Bogor Regency Government Believes In Fulfilling Rice Needs Even Though 221 Hectares Of Land Fail To Harvest

Farmers whose rice fields failed to harvest in Sukamakmur, Bogor Regency, West Java. (ANTARA/M Fikri Setiawan)

BOGOR - The Bogor Regency Government, West Java, is optimistic that it can meet the rice needs for the local community even though 221 hectares (Ha) of rice fields in the area have experienced puso or crop failure. The Head of Protection and Business Services of the Horticultural and Plantation Food Crops Service (Distanhorbun) of Bogor Regency, Judi Rahmat, ensured that the crop failure did not interfere with the rice supply for Bogor Regency. The rice field that experienced crop failure was less than 1 percent when compared to the overall rice field area in Bogor Regency which reached 38 thousand Ha. Moreover, said Judi, the need for rice for the people of Bogor Regency is not 100 percent depending on the production of farmers in their area. "If the availability of food does not depend on its own production, yes, so there is availability from outside such as Cianjur, Karawang, and others," said Judi in Bogor, as reported by Antara, Monday, September 25. According to him, 38 thousand hectares of rice fields in Bogor Regency have only been able to meet about 40 percent of the rice demand in their area. Meanwhile, Acting Head of the Bogor Regency Distanhorbun, Tatang Mulyadi, confirmed that his party was processing the claim of Padi Farmer Business Insurance (AUTP) proposed by 41 farmer groups in Bogor Regency whose rice fields suffered crop failure or puso. He explained that every one hectare of rice fields that experienced crop failure was paid Rp. 6 million by an insurance company appointed by the government. "The important thing is in accordance with the criteria, per hectare is Rp. 6 million from the insurance claim," he explained. The rice fields belonging to 41 farmer groups that experienced puso reached 221 hectares spread across 11 sub-districts, namely Cibungbulang, Cileungsi, Citeureup, Gunungputri, Jasinga, Klapanunggal, Nanggung, Pamijahan, Rumpin, Sukamakmur, and Tenjo.