South Kalimantan Province is prepared to serve as a national food buffer in the face of the threat of El Nino or extreme weather conditions. Head of the Department of Agriculture and Food Security of South Kalimantan stated that the production of food, especially rice in the region, has consistently resulted in surplus yields annually to meet the local demands. As witnessed last year, the paddy harvest in South Kalimantan yielded a surplus of approximately 42.46 thousand tons. Despite being affected by the tungro virus in 2022, which stunted the growth of rice crops, the extensive agricultural land of 358,235 hectares across 13 districts and cities in South Kalimantan still managed to produce ample rice harvests, with a surplus of around 800 thousand tons. Under normal conditions, the annual rice production in South Kalimantan amounts to about 1.2 million tons.

Due to the significant contribution to rice production, the central government, through the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia, has designated South Kalimantan as one of the six provinces to serve as a national food buffer against the threat of El Nino or the phenomenon of elevated sea surface temperatures, also in line with the vision of Governor to continuously cultivating, harvesting, and repeating the cycle. Apart from South Kalimantan, the other provinces identified as primary food buffers are two provinces in Java, followed by South Sumatra, North Sumatra, and South Sulawesi. It is estimated that the peak of the El Nino phenomenon in Indonesia will occur between August and September 2023.

Source:
https://m.jpnn.com/news/panen-padi-kalsel-surplus-siap-jadi-penyangga-pangan-nasional