Minister Of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo Encourages Karawang To Become An Agricultural Model That Can Harvest 3 Times In A Year

Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Syahrul Yasin Limpo. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo, has encouraged the Karawang Regency to become a model of modern agriculture that can harvest three times a season or a year.

"We must be able to make this country harvest three times. I want the District of Rawamerta in Karawang to be an example of great agriculture in West Java," he said on the sidelines of the harvest in Karawang, quoted from Antara, Sunday, November 14.

He wants the rice fields in Karawang to be harvested three times a season, because Karawang is a fertile area and has proven to be a national food barn.

He said that so far, Karawang's contribution to national food needs has been extraordinary, where in each harvest, the average rice production reaches 8 tons per hectare.

The Minister of Agriculture admitted that he had made a joint agreement to formulate a productivity improvement scheme. The scheme includes preparing superior seeds on dry and wet land, as well as preparing technological facilities and infrastructure to overcome water problems.

"We have agreed earlier from the village head, the sub-district head and the regent that we will try to get three harvests in a season. I hope Karawang becomes a pilot," he said.

The head of the Karawang Agriculture Service, Hanafi, said that so far the support from the Ministry of Agriculture is quite large, so that Karawang is able to maintain its status as a national food barn.

"Alhamdulillah, we can maintain Karawang as a food barn for West Java because we are in second position after Indramayu. And to provide incentives to farmers, we have made local regulation No. 13 of 2017 concerning the protection of farmers," he said.