This Is Why Tanah Bumbu Regency Can Harvest 283 Hectare Rice During Drought

Tanah Bumbu harvests 283 hectares of rice during the dry season. (ANTARA/Sujud Mariono)

TANAH BUMBU - In the midst of the dry season, the Tanah Bumbu Regency Government, South Kalimantan, successfully harvested rice together with a combination of the victorious farmer group in Batulicin District covering an area of 283 hectares.

"In October 2023, approximately 1000 hectares of rice farmers will also harvest rice in Central Kusan District," said Head of Food Crops and Horticulture at the Food and Agriculture Security Service (DKPP) of Tanah Bumbu Regency Robby Chandra in Batulicin, Saturday.

He said farmers can harvest rice up to two to three times a year because their agricultural land is in the rain and not far from the Kusan River.

The varieties of rice seeds they plant are superior varieties such as Mekongga, Inpari, Inpari IR Nutri Zinc and so on.

Based on the results of rice productivity tiles, the average farmers' yield reaches 6.5 tons per hectare.

"The target of planting rice in the 2023 period reaches 17,610 hectares, but for the results we have not been able to calculate it because some are still in the harvest process," he explained.

Robby estimates that the achievement of unhulled production from the planting target will be met considering that Tanah Bumbu Regency has a climate cycle that is different from other districts in South Kalimantan.

"When other regencies experience a rainy season, Tanah Bumbu experiences a dry season," he explained.

He also said that the farmers were getting around with the rice planting schedule early so that they were still available for water during the planting season, when entering the dry season farmers had started harvesting.

To continue to support food self-sufficiency, the Tanah Bumbu Regency government previously also facilitated rice harvesting equipment managed by the Agriculture Service.

"Alhamdulillah, this dry season harvest or "el nino", farmers can harvest in the second planting season and the results are quite satisfying," explained Robby, quoted from ANTARA, Saturday, September 16.