Jakarta, The Indonesia Post – President Joko Widodo is preparing up to 10,000 hectares of corn-planting land in the food estate of Keerom Regency, Papua Province, to supply animal feed in the area.
This was conveyed by President Jokowi while visiting a food barn and planting corn seeds in Keerom Regency, Papua, Tuesday.
“We in Keerom Regency, Papua Province, will prepare approximately 10,000 hectares here for planting corn. But what has been planted today is only 100 hectares,” the President said in a statement received in Jakarta, Tuesday.
The president explained that the government had prepared 500 hectares of free land for cultivation, then expanding the land in 2024 to 2,500 hectares.
The Head of State said that the flat land conditions were suitable for planting corn with production reaching 4-5 tons per hectare, or below the productivity of Java Island which reached 10-11 tons per hectare.
However, the President emphasized that the buyer or offtaker of the corn harvest must have been determined, as well as post-harvest handling, so that farmers are not harmed.
The President also ordered Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo and Keerom Regent Piter Gusbager to ensure that the buyer (offtaker) and selling price are profitable for farmers and fair for breeders.
Jokowi assesses that the need for corn to supply animal feed in Papua is still lacking, both for laying hens, broilers, as well as for pigs and cows.
Therefore, the President encouraged the maximum use of the results from planting corn in the food estate to meet the demand for animal feed in Papua.
“If it is brought to Java, the cost is quite expensive, so it must be used for the lands of Papua, Papua and West Papua,” he said. (mhn/bbs)
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