Batanghari Regency Government Activates Dozens Of Economy To Anticipate El Nino

The construction of one of the reservoirs in Mersam District, Batanghari Regency, Tuesday (29/11/2022). (ANTARA/HO-IST)

JAMBI - The Batanghari Regency Government, Jambi, is preparing anticipation and increasing awareness of the El Nino phenomenon which has the potential to disrupt the harvest season by preparing reservoirs.

Secretary of the Batanghari Agriculture and Fisheries Service, Sazili Musaqa, said that one of the prevention efforts that can be done is to build and activate reservoirs.

"We give appeals to farmers and have been conveyed to each sub-district, so that rice irrigation in the fields can continue to flow," he said, quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, August 2.

Currently, the long dry season or El Nino is expected to occur at the end of the year, and can have an impact on farmers' rice plants in the Jambi area.

However, a good irrigation system can be anticipated to deal with drought. For this reason, the local government will anticipate the transition from the rainy season to the dry season by urging farmers to build rice fields.

The district government is preparing to build one reservoir in Petang Lima Tribe Village in the Sawah Tuo Farmers Group.

Meanwhile, currently, the number of reservoirs that have been reactivated is eleven reservoirs, the emung, he said, has actually been active from 2016 to 2022.

The embung is found in several sub-districts including Maro Sebo Ilir, Batin 24, Muara Tembesi, Muara Bulian, Mersam. Meanwhile, the sub-districts that do not have a reservoir are Pemayung and Bajubang sub-districts.

After seeking construction and activating reservoirs, his party also carried out further mitigation to anticipate El Nino through pumping from the Batanghari River to rice fields, the availability of longscripts or trenches to store water.

To make the reservoir, the government provides assistance funds from the State Budget (APBN) in the form of self-management, which means that the funds go to farmers and farmers who work on it.

The Agriculture and Fisheries Service also provided information to farmers regarding the El Nino phenomenon based on estimates from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). Meanwhile, until 2023, there were 5,618 hectares of rice fields in Batanghari Regency.

Based on observations, the condition of the rice plants owned by farmers in Batanghari Regency is still quite safe and the threat of crop failure has not been found.

Meanwhile, according to projections received by the Department of Food Crops, Agriculture and Fisheries, the El Nino phenomenon is expected to occur from August to September 2023.