Officially The Beringin Sila Dam In Sumbawa, Jokowi Please Product Padi Productivity In NTB To Rise Drasticly

Screenshot of Indonesian President Joko Widodo (central) gave information after inaugurating the Beringin Sila Dam in Sumbawa Regency, West Nusa Tenggara/ANTARA

MATARAM - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) hopes that the Beringin Sila Dam which he just inaugurated in Sumbawa Regency today can make rice productivity in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Province increase dramatically. Beringin Sila Dam is the fourth dam to be inaugurated from six dams built by the government in NTB. "We hope that from the six dams that will be completed next year, all of them will be in NTB, rice productivity in NTB can increase drastically," Jokowi said in a statement to the media crew after the inauguration as broadcast on the official YouTube channel of the Presidential Secretariat. Based on data from the NTB Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2021, the province posted rice production of 1.42 million tons of milled dry unhulled rice (GKG), an increase of 102,370 tons, or 7.77 percent compared to the previous year. With this amount, the production rate of NTB rice in 2021 will reach 808,510 tons, an increase of 58,300 tons compared to the previous year. Central Lombok Regency will be the most rice-producing areas among 10 regencies/cities in NTB in 2021 with a total of 357,910 tons followed by Sumbawa Regency of 287,480 tons. The President explained that the Beringin Sila Dam is the 35th dam that has been completed and operated by the government in the last eight years. In addition to agricultural irrigation interests, these dams are also used to maintain raw water reserves in NTB, which in the past often experienced water difficulties. Especially for Sumbawa Island, the President said that next year there will be a Tiu Suntuk Dam in West Sumbawa Regency whose construction is projected to be completed. "Yang (Bendungan) Tiu Suntuk, Insyaallah tahun depan, tahun 2023 selesai," kata Jokowi. In addition to the two dams, the four dams included in the national strategic project (PSN) in NTB are Tanju Dam, Mila Dam, Bintang Bano Dam, and Meninting Dam. In the inauguration procession, the President briefly explained that the Beringin Sila Dam was built with a budget of IDR 1.7 trillion, has an inundation area of 126 hectares, and can irrigate rice fields of approximately 3,500 hectares.