Minister Of PUPR Basuki: Development Of The National Food Security Support Dam

Minister of PUPR Basuki Hadimuljono. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono said the construction of dams for water availability could support national food security.

"If the water is supplied from dam (dems) it can be measured and can be arranged, so the planting pattern can definitely be more than twice per year, if it is planted twice a year, it means that production will increase, that's food security," Basuki said at a press conference at the Jakarta Convention Center, Jakarta, Wednesday, February 15.

Basuki said, Indonesia has about 7.3 million hectares of rice fields and a total of 230 dams, but only about 10 percent of the total land whose water is supplied from the dam, while the rest has not.

This of course makes rice fields that do not get water supply from the dam only one time they can be planted, so it is not optimal to increase food production.

Therefore, continued Basuki, his party will build more dams, so that they can increase about 20 percent of the rice fields.

"We will build 61 dam. Until 2022, 38 dam has been completed and inaugurated, if everything is finished it will support approximately 20 percent. So, there is an additional 9-10 percent irrigation land," he added.

For your information, the government through the Ministry of PUPR is committed to completing the construction of 61 dams in the 2014-2024 period.

By the end of 2022, the Ministry of PUPR has completed 38 dams. The completion of the entire dam is expected to provide more water to the rice fields, so that it can increase national food production.