Minister Of Agriculture Amran: 50 Thousand Hectares Of Rawa In North Sumatra Will Be Used As Rice Fields

Minister of Agriculture, Andi Amran Sulaiman. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia Andi Amran Sulaiman said as many as 50 thousand hectares of swampland in North Sumatra Province was diverted into rice fields to increase national agricultural production.

"We are budgeting, if there is a swamp, we will build a modern agriculture, hopefully there will be 50 thousand ha here," said Andi Amran Sulaiman after the Agricultural and Farmers Extensions Development event in North Sumatra Province in Medan, quoted from Antara, Monday, February 5.

He explained that the Ministry of Agriculture is seriously enforcing the swamp cultivation program into rice fields by preparing an entire budget to realize the program.

"The budget is ready, it depends on the governor, deputy city, regent throughout North Sumatra," he said.

The Ministry of Agriculture is targeting one million hectares of swamps to become rice fields throughout Indonesia by 2024.

The target is based on the Ministry of Agriculture's Roadmap to make Indonesia a world food barn in 2028. It is targeted that by 2024 the rice fields from the swamp can produce 2.5 million tons of rice and can reduce imports.

Previously, the Head of Food Crops at the Food Security Service for Food Crops and Horticulture in North Sumatra Muhammad Juwaini said the North Sumatra Provincial Government was ready to develop swampland in its area into rice fields to support programs to increase food commodity production, especially rice and corn from the Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman.

"The villages are located in several areas, such as Labuhanbatu, Serdang Bedagai and Deli Serdang," he said

According to him, North Sumatra has never used swampland to become a large area of rice fields. However, with the right formula and program, Juwaini believes it can be done well.

"Later we can find out how the development is and efforts to overcome the obstacles," he said.