Farmers Fail To Harvest Imbas 4,093.15 Hectares Of Sawah In Pidie Aceh Flooded

The rice fields were flooded (ANTARA/Distang Pidie Document)

PIDIE - The Department of Agriculture and Food (Distanpang) of Pidie Regency noted that an area of 4,093.15 hectares of rice fields in the local area was flooded. Farmers experience cropping failure. Head of Agricultural Infrastructure and Facilities, Distangang Pidie, Zulkifli said, the flooded land consists of land that is still inhabited by around 1,635 hectares and has a planting period of up to 30 days of around 2,458.15 hectares. The flooded rice fields are spread across 17 sub-districts. The areas most severely affected by the flood are Padang Tiji, Delima, Muara Tiga, Simpang Tiga, and Batee sub-districts. According to him, the area that was severe because the water was still inundated in the rice fields due to clogged and restrained water flow and there was also irrigation that could not accommodate a high water discharge. "The area that is still submerged in the flood is dominant in the growing land compared to the rice seedlings that are still being planted," he said in Sigli, Antara, Monday, January 30. Then for the Mutiara, East Mutiara, Glumpang Baro and Glumpang Tiga sub-districts, the average planting period has varied rice age and has fertilized. “ Currently, BPP officers and plant disorders Organism Control (POPT) in Pidie are still recording that the flooded rice fields and the area of rice fields have an impact on flooding are likely to increase considering that several sub-districts have not been recorded, ” said Zulkifli. His party has not been able to calculate the losses incurred after the flood because data collection is still being carried out and will later participate in reporting the data to the Ministry for follow-up. "Many areas have suffered losses and it is feared that puso will occur due to the flooding of old land with a height of 40 to 70 meters," said Zulkifli. Farmers in Gampong Seukem, Delima Subdistrict, Hasanah said that his rice fields were flooded for almost a week with water levels estimated to reach the knee of an adult. The water was inundated in the fields because the swamps, which are usually racing the flow, are no longer able to accommodate, have overflowed because the water discharge exceeds, Hasanah said. In fact, a few days earlier it had been given fertilizer but when it was raining heavily until it was flooded, the benefits of spraying the fertilizer were useless. He is afraid that the newly grown rice fields will fail to grow and will be puso. He hopes that the government will pay attention because the farmers suffered losses due to the flood.