JAKARTA - The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs stated that the government regulates the distribution of subsidized fertilizers with the aim that their utilization is right on target and optimizes the agricultural sector.
"Subsidized fertilizer is a strategic step that has been agreed by the government to optimize distribution and encourage the optimization of agricultural products," said Deputy for Food and Agribusiness Coordination at the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy Musdhalifah Machmud at the press conference "Policy Socialization on Subsidized Fertilizers in the Agricultural Sector" which was held online in Jakarta, reported from Antara, Friday 15 July.
Musdhalifah said provisions related to subsidized fertilizers have been regulated in the Minister of Agriculture Regulation (Permentan) Number 10 of 2022 concerning Procedures for Determining the Allocation and Highest Retail Price of Subsidized Fertilizers in the Agricultural Sector.
He said the government had prepared a budget of Rp. 25 trillion for subsidized fertilizer, which was aimed at around 16 million farmers in the country.
In the Ministry of Agriculture, the fertilizers subsidized by the government are urea and NPK fertilizers. In addition, agricultural commodities that receive fertilizer subsidies are rice, corn, soybeans, chili, shallots, garlic, sugar cane, coffee, and cocoa.
"These nine commodities are expected to support food security and improve the welfare of Indonesian farmers," he said.
Musdhalifah emphasized that the government is committed to continuing to support and improve the governance of the subsidized fertilizer program in economic development, especially the agricultural sector so that it can be more innovative and adaptive to technological advances.
In line with Indonesia's leadership in the G20 Presidency, it is hoped that it can provide benefits and maximize existing opportunities to improve the community's economy, especially in the food and agribusiness sectors.
On the same occasion, the Director General of Agricultural Infrastructure and Facilities at the Ministry of Agriculture, Ali Jamil, said that subsidized fertilizers are intended for farmers with a maximum land area of two hectares per planting season.
Not only that, farmers must also be members of farmer groups and registered in Simluhtan (Agricultural Extension Management Information System).
The determination of the allocation of subsidized fertilizers consists of the central level determined by the Ministry of Agriculture, the allocation at the provincial level is determined by the governor and the regent/mayor determines who the recipient is at the district/city level.
"This is an improvement in the system that leads to the ease, openness and transparency of the use of subsidized fertilizers. We hope that with this improvement, it will no longer be like what farmers directly suggested," said Ali.
He added that the distribution of subsidized fertilizer from retail kiosks to farmers using farmer cards is carried out through electronic data capture machines and/or digital applications.
However, if the Farmer's Card is not yet available, the distribution can use an identity card (KTP).
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
