Minister Of Agriculture Amran Pacu Agricultural Production NTB Through Pumpization

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

JAKARTA - Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman spurred the Province of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) to immediately install a massive pumping on local agricultural land to prepare food security in the province.

"El Nino's drought has overlapped and we have to be vigilant. Therefore, we have to install a pump as much as possible so that rice fields can be watered so that we can speed up the planting period," said Minister of Agriculture Amran, quoted from ANTARA, Friday, May 3.

According to the Minister of Agriculture, pumping is part of the strategic steps taken by the government in anticipating the phenomenon of climate change in El Nino, whose impact has made national rice production decline.

The Minister of Agriculture said that so far there have been more than 4,000 pumps prepared for NTB. However, the thousands of pumps can still be added to 6,000 pumps if the water in the existing rivers continues to be wet or not dry.

"For NTB, 4000 pump units, but if we want to add them, we will add 6,000 pump units. Why? Because September, October, and November are the most critical. This is what we need to make a quick solution through the pump," he said.

The Minister of Agriculture added that the current government has doubled the allocation of subsidized fertilizers or increased by 100 percent. Therefore, inevitably national production must increase to achieve self-sufficiency in Indonesia and become a world food barn.

"Pupuk has increased 100 percent from 4.5 million tons to 9.5 million tons. God willing, production will increase and we can achieve self-sufficiency in the next few years," he said.

Di tempat yang sama, Penjabat Gubernur NTB Lalu Gita mengatakan bahwa NTB siap melaksanakan semua arah Mentan, baik pompinasi maupun manajemen air seperti panen hujan di sektor upstream untuk memenuhi dam.

Then hope that this method can provide access to water for farmers even though it is dry. "Earlier, the Minister arrived at the water management, namely the rain harvest in the upstream sector, to fill dams outside the rainy season, if the dam is full, then water can be channeled to areas - rainsheds through irrigation canals, "explained Lalu.