The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) has rolled out a dry land optimization program for farmers in Garut Regency, West Java. The dry land optimization program was realized in an area of 300 hectares out of 150 thousand dry land areas owned by West Java Province. By using environmentally friendly technology such as the use of sunlight for pumped irrigation, the Ministry of Agriculture's dry land optimization program has succeeded in increasing the cropping index and agricultural productivity. The Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL) emphasized that the development of agricultural areas will continue to be carried out in line with the narrowing of agricultural land due to development. On the other hand, the optimization of dry land is an effort to support the national food security program to meet the people's food needs.
"The Ministry of Agriculture continues to be committed to the national food security program. People's food needs must not be questioned. We must continue to produce because people's need for food is non-negotiable," said Minister of Agriculture SYL. Director General of Agricultural Infrastructure and Facilities (PSP) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Ali Jamil added, this dry land optimization program is in line with the national agricultural development goals, namely providing people's food, increasing the cropping index and agricultural productivity and boosting exports. "We continue to strive to push this agricultural sector in an advanced, independent and modern direction. Through the use of agricultural mechanization, we strive so that agriculture can adapt to technological developments 4.0," said Ali. Ali said that his party never stopped working as much as possible to increase agricultural productivity. One of the efforts made is to optimize dry land. "Through the dry land optimization program, two things are targeted, namely productivity and increasing the cropping index. This program has two benefits for our agriculture and the farmers themselves," he said.
He added that he has considerable potential to be developed in a dry land optimization program. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture continues to strive so that the agricultural sector can continue to provide full support not only for the fulfillment of people's food, but also the development of the national economy. "Agriculture is a promising sector. With the use of modern technology, agriculture can develop well, keeping up with the times. So that farmers can maximize their agricultural sector," he said. Director of Land Expansion and Protection, Erwin Noorwibowo explained, this dry land optimization program was realized to develop the potential of Garut Regency. In this way, it is hoped that agricultural productivity can continue to increase, which will have an impact on increasing farmers' income. "The orientation is of course increasing the cropping index and agricultural productivity. What does agricultural development mean when the farmers do not benefit. Therefore, we hope that this program can be utilized properly by farmers to increase their agricultural production which is expected to have an impact on increasing their income and welfare," he said. Erwin.
