Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo (Ministry of Agriculture SYL) ensured that the availability of rice in Yogyakarta was in abundant condition. This certainty was conveyed by SYL when directly observing the harvest activities in Tegal Sempu Hamlet, Caturharjo Village, Pandak District, Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY).
More than that, according to SYL, the rice there is in the surplus category because based on a count, the average resident's house has quite a lot of stock of rice.
"So in Indonesia there is no shortage of food. We have BPS data where February-March and April are at the peak of the harvest. I even asked the people directly and they said conditions were abundant," said SYL, Tuesday, February 14, 2023.
For information, the harvested area in Pandak District reaches 193 ha with an average planting using Inpari 32, 42 and Ciherang varieties. The planting index there is already IP 300 with productivity reaching 7.8 tonnes of GKP per ha.
SYL hopes that the high production in Bantul is proof that agriculture is an economic force for the local community. Because of that, he hopes, farmers will use the agricultural People's Business Credit (KUR) as a new way to meet capital.
"I really hope that the chairman and your group don't have to use their own money. But use KUR which has low interest. And of all the bad debtors it's only 0.3 to 0.6. That means our farmers are honest sir, our farmers are great," he said .
The Head of the Yogyakarta Agriculture Service, Sugeng Purwanto said that almost all areas of DIY's rice centers were carrying out the main harvest. The peak, he said, is that March and April will see additional availability.
"We report that as of February 14, DIY has already partially harvested rice. Bantul itself has an area of 5,800 ha and DIY 193 thousand ha. What is certain, he said, at this time the main harvest continues in a number of central areas.
Separately, the Director General of Food Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture, Suwandi, said that until now the main harvest continues in a number of areas. Including the areas of Yogyakarta, Central Java, East Java, West Java and other areas on the outer islands of Java.
"The harvest in February will be carried out in East Java, Central Java, West Java, DIY and also Banten. From our calculations, the estimated production is more than 3 million tons of rice. This is certainly sufficient for national rice consumption of 2.5 million tons per month. "However, if it is harvested in February, it will enter the market around early March, because there is a process of harvesting, milling and so on," he explained.
Resource: https://www.pertanian.go.id/home/?show=news&act=view&id=5256
