40 Percent Of Dry Land, Minister Of Agriculture Amran Asks To Maximize The Pumpization Movement In Bojonegoro

Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman (Photo: dock. Antara)

JAKARTA - Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman asked for the pumping movement in Bojonegoro Regency, East Java, to be carried out optimally. This is to increase agricultural productivity in the area.

"The area of dry land here is 40 percent. So 40 percent here, how many have attached to Bengawan Solo or the Berantas River must be checked and installed pumps optimally," Amran said quoting Antara.

Amran in an official statement received in Jakarta, Monday, asked the head of the service and also related parties in the Bojonegoro area to immediately check the large rivers that never recede during the dry season. After checking, the installation of pumps must be massive immediately.

Furthermore, said Amran, the water from the rivers is channeled to rice fields with a planting index of 1 or a maximum of 2 times a year so that in the future it can be increased to 3 to 4 times a year.

"What must be sought is a river that is never dry. This is permissible. So the one who planted it was looking for it once and the one who planted it 2 times looked for it so that it could plant 3 to 4 times," said Amran.

The Minister of Agriculture said pumping is a quick solution considering that currently not all areas are in the rain. This means that there are still dry areas due to being hit by natural phenomena, El Nino gorillas, aka extreme dry season, which leads to a food emergency.

To support these efforts, said Amran, all parties must be involved, both from the TNI, Polri, the Prosecutor's Office, farmers, and direct support from the Surabaya Madura Regional Development Agency (BPWS) which has maps of watery river areas and dry fields.

"What is certain is that we must be efficient and effective. Even from BPWS, it has been agreed that 200 pumps are used and out. Now ladies and gentlemen, this is well checked how many pumps are needed to increase the planting index," he said.

Acting (Pj) Regent Bojonegoro Adriyanto fully supports the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture in maximizing pumping on dry land in East Java.

Moreover, said Adriyanto, Bojonegoro Regency has been the third largest rice producer for the East Java region, but it has a big challenge because if the rainy season is at risk of flooding and if the dry season can last for up to eight months.

"Bojonegoro is the third largest area for rice production in East Java. But we are trying to maintain maximum production where the figure in 2023 reaches 705 thousand tons. So we fully support the pumping carried out," said Adriyanto.

He said the area of rice fields in Bojonegoro reached 115 hectares with an average use of varieties being inpari 32 or the planting index 200.

The productivity in the area reaches 7.5 tons per hectare with a water level of 21 percent. It is known, the average price of unhulled rice there reaches IDR 7,100.