JAKARTA - Drought due to El Nino has hit 294 points in various regions of Indonesia until the end of July 2026.
Of this amount, as many as 180 points occurred in irrigation areas or rice fields, so that they have the potential to disrupt agricultural productivity and national food supply.
Facing this condition, the Ministry of Public Works (PU) is now accelerating the search for new water sources, especially groundwater, to maintain water supply to agricultural land affected by drought.
Minister PU Dody Hanggodo said that searching for underground water sources is one of the government's focuses to ensure that the water needs for agriculture are still met during the dry season.
"What we are pursuing now is to get as much groundwater as possible and channel it to the nearest rice fields. We must ensure that farmers' productivity does not decrease even in dry conditions," said Dody in an official statement, Friday, July 31.
Of the total 294 drought points that have been handled by the Ministry of PU, 202 points or 68.7 percent have been completed.
Meanwhile, another 92 points are still in the process of being handled.
For dry points in irrigation areas, handling has been carried out at 160 of 180 points.
Thus, there are still 20 dry points in the rice fields which are in the process of being handled.
Various emergency measures are being taken to maintain water supply to the rice fields.
Among them are pumping water from rivers to irrigated areas, normalizing irrigation canals, raising the canal embankment on an emergency basis using sandbags, installing pipes to increase water discharge, and building tertiary irrigation canals so that water can reach affected agricultural land.
According to Dody, this step is necessary to prevent widespread drought and suppress its impact on farmer productivity.
Water availability in the rice fields is important to maintain the sustainability of food production in the midst of drought conditions.
In the search for new water sources, the Ministry of PU has partnered with the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) by utilizing isotope technology to trace the potential of underground water sources.
The utilization of this technology is part of efforts to strengthen water resources management as well as support President Prabowo Subianto's direction that the utilization of technology is optimized to strengthen national food security.
In addition to searching for underground water sources, the PU Ministry is also working with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in carrying out Weather Modification Operations (OMC) in a number of dam areas.
One of them was carried out at the Jatiluhur Dam on July 30, 2026. The operation was carried out together with Perum Jasa Tirta II, BMKG and TNI AU to maintain the availability of water reservoirs needed for irrigation.
"Weather modification operations are one way we ensure that water continues to flow to the farmers' fields around the dam," he said.
Meanwhile, drought also has an impact on residential areas.
Of the 114 dry points in residential areas, 42 locations have been completed and 72 locations are still in process.
To meet the basic needs of the community, the handling is carried out, among others, through the distribution of clean water assistance using tanker trucks and support for the provision of clean water for affected communities.
The Ministry of PU ensures that drought management will continue through a combination of finding new water sources, optimizing irrigation networks, weather modification operations, and meeting the community's clean water needs.
The effort is directed not only to reduce the impact of the dry season, but also to maintain water resilience and maintain agricultural productivity as part of efforts to support national food security.
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