Appreciation For Being Involved In Food Security, Minister Of Agriculture Lumbs Army Chief Of Staff Maruli "Father Of Food"

Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman (right) together with Army Chief of Staff General TNI Maruli Simanjuntak at the Red Bawang Harvest event in Bekasi Regency, Tuesday, June 11. (Ist)

JAKARTA - Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman expressed his appreciation to the Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) General Maruli Simanjuntak.

According to the Minister of Agriculture, the Army Chief of Staff played a role in encouraging the national food security program run by the Indonesian Army throughout the country.

"Representing the government and Indonesian farmers, we thank you," said the Minister of Agriculture at the Panen Raya Komoditas Bawang Merah on the integrated agricultural land of Korem 051/Wijayakarta, Wanajaya Village, Cibitung District, Bekasi Regency, Tuesday 11 June.

For this action, the Minister of Agriculture dubbed the Army Chief of Staff as "Mr. Food". The nickname was given by the Minister of Agriculture as a form of appreciation for the dedication of the Indonesian Army who has always been at the forefront of utilizing vacant land for the agricultural sector, especially shallot commodities.

The Minister of Agriculture also highlighted the expertise of the Army Chief of Staff in the field of irrigation which had a positive impact on agricultural expansion.

"We understand that the Army Chief of Staff is an expert in the irrigation sector. Now that the food has been expanded in the onion commodity, we thank you," said the Indonesian Minister of Agriculture.

Responding to this, the Army Chief of Staff emphasized that the onion planting program is an old initiative that continues to be supported by the government, enabling the wide opening and planting of land throughout Indonesia.

"In the future, we are supported by the Minister to ensure that farmers can harvest more often. By pumping and optimizing the land, we strive to harvest three times, at least," said the Army Chief of Staff.

In this Panen Raya event, Danrem 051/Wkt Brigadier General Riyanto started with a review of agricultural and livestock land. The Minister of Agriculture together with the Army Chief of Staff and invited officials as well as the main officials of the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture and the Indonesian Army, then carried out the action of harvesting shallots.

The land area of onion plants reaches 13 hectares, with 4.5 hectares harvested in stages. This simultaneous harvest also involved 27 units of Kodam Jaya/Jayakarta, with a total of 66.9263 hectares of harvested land.

In addition to monitoring the land and harvesting shallots, the group also reviewed the location of MSMEs managed by Korem 051/Wkt and provided basic food assistance and fertilizer to members of farmer groups in Wanajaya Village.