Gov’t Appreciates Farmers for Remarkable Production Increase during the 1st Planting Season

By Office of Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents & Translation     Date 11 Juni 2020
Category: News
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Post-harvest rice stock. (Photo by: Ministry of Agriculture)

Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo expressed his appreciation for Indonesian farmers over rice stocks up to the end of June that reach 7.49 million tons.

“This figure has been included in the count of stocks up to the end of December 2020 which reach 6.1 million tons,” Minister of Agriculture said during the 2020 Coordination Meeting for Implementation Acceleration of Agricultural Development, Wednesday (10/6).

Furthermore, the Minister said that this appreciation needed to be shown because the farmers succeeded in achieving a remarkable increase in production during the first planting season.

“When  COVID-19 pandemic weakened all  aspects of the economy, the agricultural sector was a savior with exceptional crop yields and was able to feed enough people,” the Minister explained.

For the record, during the first planting season of October-March, the planting area reached 6.07 million ha with a harvested area of around 5.83 million ha from January to June. From this area, the farmers were able to produce 29.02 million tons of dry paddy (GKG) and produce 16.65 million tons of rice or Rp168 trillion.

“Whatever happens tomorrow, what cannot be tolerated are problems in people’s food. We succeeded in our first planting season and only Ministry of Agriculture whose export productivity rose above 12.6 percent,” he said.

Syahrul stated that the next planting season will experience many challenges and heavier obstacles. Therefore, the Minister asked all elements of the nation to prepare the second planting season vigorously.

For the record, the FAO warned the public of a very high drought coupled with a five-year cycle pest attacks. The global food crisis is also forecasted this year.

“If we all intervene, there will be a strong togetherness with detailed planning. Institutional coordination must be strong. We must synergize with Ministry of Village, Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, other ministries and institutions, SOEs, regional governments, private sectors, and Higher Education Institutions,” the Minister said.

This coordination meeting was attended by representatives from Riau Province, Riau Islands Province, Jambi Province, Bengkulu Province, Bangka Belitung Province, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Special Capital Region of Jakarta, Bali Province, West Nusa Tenggara Province, East Kalimantan Province, North Kalimantan Province, North Sulawesi Province, Central Sulawesi Province, Gorontalo Province, West Sulawesi Province, Maluku Province, North Maluku Province and West Papua Province. (Ministry of Agriculture Public Relations/EN)

 

 

Translated by: Fairuzzamani Inayatillah
Reviewed by: Mia M. Bonaedy

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