The Ministry Of Agriculture Is Optimistic To Be Able To Meet Indonesia's Food Needs Until The End Of 2024

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) is optimistic that it can meet domestic food needs until the end of the year by continuing to evenly plant rice and corn throughout Indonesia to ensure adequate food availability.

"We are very optimistic that in terms of food, especially rice and corn, if with the addition of new land, then we will take care of the production, we will increase it with all existing resources, especially since we have this demographic bonus, it is very possible to meet domestic needs," said Director General of Food Crops at the Ministry of Agriculture Yudi Sastro in a statement in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Monday, September 23.

He said that currently, the government through the Ministry of Agriculture has expanded the planting area (PAT) by utilizing pumping as a quick solution to increase domestic production.

He said the target of increasing planting every month reached 1 million hectares consisting of rain fields and optimizing land. The target is currently underway considering that several centers have held more than once harvests.

"This effort is slowly but surely starting to show results. Most recently, Indonesia exports 50 thousand tons of corn from Gorontalo for feed needs in the Philippines," he said.

According to him, the export is proof that the hard work and collaboration of all parties is able to bring Indonesia's food back to glory.

"We export corn this year. Whereas previously we experienced shortcomings. But then after we optimized the land, our friends supported it from other aspects so that we could turn things around from imports to exports," he said.

Yudi said that in recent months all ranks at the Ministry of Agriculture went down directly and were in the field providing assistance and overseeing the running of the program that was decided.

In addition, the government continues to improve services from regulations to the use of superior varieties of seeds.

"We are all ordered by the Minister (Pertanitan Andi Amran Sulaiman) to go directly to the regions and accelerate planting and then optimize land," he said.

He said the government continues to optimize seed production through private companies to significantly increase agricultural productivity.

He explained that there are almost 500 superior varieties, including about 300ara rice varieties currently available.

"But indeed what still exists is our challenge for seeds, for example, rice centers for rice seed production are in Java and Lampung for other areas, sometimes in certain seasons so it is still lacking," he said.

The government continues to accelerate production acceleration through the PAT planting area expansion program and pumping as a quick solution to increase the planting index from only once to twice or even three times a year.

Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman previously said that pumping is a quick solution in expanding the planting area (PAT) during a long drought due to the world's heat waves.

Through this program, he is optimistic that Indonesia will be able to increase production optimally.

"We have distributed the pompanization evenly, now is the time for us to work to increase the planting index from once to three times a year. That way, we can make sure we can achieve self-sufficiency to the world's food barn," he said.