Jakarta, TheIndonesiaPost – The Ministry of Villages, Disadvantaged Areas, and Transmigration (Ministry of PDTT) claims to have prepared a transmigration area of 1.8 million hectares (ha). This land is prepared to maintain food security in order to avoid the threat of starvation due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
“The land that can be used for intensification is 1.8 million ha of agricultural land in 3.2 million ha of transmigration areas. The location is scattered in several areas, “said the Minister of Villages, Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration (Mendes PDTT) Abdul Halim Iskandar was quoted by Cable News Network Indonesia from setkab.go.id on Friday (5/15).
He continued, 500 thousand hectares of land had carried production activities out of a total of 1.8 million hectares of agricultural land. He said this intensification program could meet food needs for 16 million people per year.
Yields that previously ranged from 3 to 4 tons per ha in one crop can now be maximized to 5 million to 6 million tons per ha in each planting.
While the rest, namely 1.3 million ha of land has not met the requirements such as mechanization and irrigation, rice milling, and off-takers. Mendes PDTT said that in the future the land would be used for long-term intensification by involving relevant ministries and institutions.
Trials on 500 ha of land will be carried out in 2021 and followed by 1.3 million ha for the medium and long term.
Mendes PDTT assessed that increasing agricultural productivity must be done if food security is not threatened after the Coronavirus pandemic.
“Because of co-19, imports are difficult because every country is thinking about their own needs. We must dare to stand alone so that SMEs and agriculture are encouraged, “he concluded. (ojan / bbs)
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