PLN's Electrifying Agriculture Program Presses Operational Costs For Red Onion Farmers Up To 90 Percent

Onion plants belonging to Poktan Bawang Merah Ngudi Makmur in Bantul Regency that use Electrifying Agriculture. (photo: Doc. PLN)

JAKARTA - PLN's electrifying agriculture (EA) program is able to encourage increased productivity and income of the Onion Red Farmers Group (Poktan) Ngudi Makmur in Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta Special Region.

"After turning to electrical energy a year ago, the cost efficiency for watering has become very high from our Farmers Group," said Ilyas, Saturday, May 13.

This electrifying agriculture program is one of PLN's innovations with the use of electrical energy in agriculture such as agriculture, fisheries, plantations and livestock which aims to increase productivity and operational efficiency.

PLN President Director, Darmawan Prasodjo hopes that in the future the PLN's Electrifying Agriculture program can increasingly target farmers in an effort to increase their harvest. This is because the enthusiasm of farmers in this program is very high.

"Hopefully, with this facility, the Indonesian economy will be stronger and the standard of living, especially for farmers, farmers, farmers, farmers, the better. We help farmers who have difficulty getting fuel, which costs a lot of money with cleaner electrical energy for our farmers," said Darmawan.

General Manager of PLN Central Java and DI Yogyakarta Distribution Main Unit, AB Wahyu Jatmiko added, PLN continues to be committed to supporting the development of the agricultural sector to create sustainable economic development.

Until the April 2023 period, said Jatmiko, PLN had distributed a total power of 5,387,000 Volt Ampere (VA) to 904 customers to assist the operational efficiency of agricultural sector business actors in Central Java and Yogyakarta.

"This step is our commitment as a company in producing a Creating Share Value (CSV) based on Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) or sustainable development," explained Jatmiko.

Ilyas Suprapta, a member of Poktan, admitted that he has succeeded in efficiency in operating costs of up to 90 percent since switching to using electricity to irrigate his rice fields from 2022.

Prior to the EA PLN program, said Ilyas, he and farmers in the area faced obstacles in irrigating their land. This is because all farmers use diesel fuel oil (BBM) which costs a lot of money.

In one watering the land can spend 1.5 liters to 2 liters per thousand meters or around Rp. 20 thousand within one meter. In addition, there are restrictions on the number of purchases that make it difficult for farmers to get fuel.

Therefore, the presence of the EA program succeeded in making the Ngudi Makmur Farmers Group, which includes 801 farmers, able to save up to 90 percent for watering costs every season.

"With low costs, now our water availability is sufficient to plant onions, so it has a huge impact on our harvest productivity. We from Poktan Ngudi Makmur would like to thank PLN for its contribution to providing electricity on our lands," concluded Ilyas.