A Touch Of Technology In Upland Rice Cultivation Is A Solution To Make Dry Land In Indonesia So Productive

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto. (Photo: Doc. Coordinating Ministry for the Economy)

JAKARTA - The government continues to be committed to paying attention to national food security, because the food sector has a vital role in the life of a nation. The government's seriousness in paying attention to food security has proven that the agricultural sector is still capable of resilience during the pandemic.

The agricultural sector is also a sector that plays a major role in supporting national food security, the agricultural sector also managed to grow positively 2.08 percent (yoy) in the fourth quarter of 2021. In the National Development Agenda for 2022-2024, the Government is also prioritizing programs to increase availability, access , and the quality of food consumption.

As a form of effort to increase the availability of food consumption, the Government encourages optimization of upland rice cultivation in various regions. Upland rice was chosen because it is a type of rice that can be planted in dry land areas or commonly referred to as dry rice. Upland rice cultivation is also a solution in the utilization of former plantation land and can be applied in areas with low rainfall.

Various provinces in Indonesia have cultivated upland rice, one of which is Lampung Province. As a province that is ranked as the fifth national rice producer, the upland rice cultivation encourages an increase in the amount of rice production and food availability in the region.

During a series of working visits to Lampung Province, Saturday, February 12, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto witnessed firsthand the first harvest of Gogo Rice at the Gogo Rice Research Project owned by PT Huma Indah Mekar (HIM) in Tulang Bawang Barat Regency, Lampung Province. This inaugural Gogo Rice Harvest was able to produce as much as 5.3 tons per hectare with an area of 84 hectares.

"We appreciate the first harvest of Gogo Rice, which of course uses a touch of technology and trials. This Gogo Rice is expected to continue to provide positive results and can continue to be encouraged, especially in food barns where water is limited," said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

Based on the release of data from the Central Statistics Agency, Lampung Province's rice production in 2021 was recorded at 2,472,587 tons of Milled Dry Grain (GKG) and had a share of 4.47 percent of the national production which reached 55,269,619 tons of GKG with a productivity of 50.40 kw/ha. Specifically for Tulang Bawang Barat Regency, rice production in 2020 will reach 30 thousand tons of GKG.

On the occasion, Coordinating Minister Airlangga encouraged the Regional Government and all levels of society to develop agriculture from upstream to downstream that was more competitive with high productivity. In addition, by using superior seeds and applying agricultural mechanization so that they are able to be self-sufficient in food and contribute positively to the national economy.

"In fact, Indonesia has never imported rice in the last 3 years, so in fact we are self-sufficient in rice in the last 3 years. And even now our rice is relatively safe, we will enter the harvest season where we can get 14 to 15 million tons. We have also received requests other countries to import rice from Indonesia," said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.

Also present on the occasion were the Governor of Lampung, Member of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Mr. Aburizal Bakrie, Deputy for Food and Agribusiness Coordination at the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy, Chairman of the DPRD of Tulang Bawang Barat Regency, Regent of Tulang Bawang Barat, and members of the Forkopimda of Tulang Bawang Barat Regency.