Jakarta, hitclubapk3 Indonesia
—
Minister of Agriculture (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman is targeting development
rice fields
new area of 100 thousand hectares to speed up
food self-sufficiency
in
Papua
.
This step is said to be the government’s big agenda to ensure that Papua is food independent starting in 2027 and no longer dependent on supplies from outside the island.
“Our dream is that Papua is food independent. It no longer depends on supplies from Makassar or Java. Papua must meet its own needs. Because if we transport it from other regions, the transportation costs are borne by the community,” said Amran in an official statement during the distribution of SPHP rice in Jayapura, Tuesday (9/12).
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The boss of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) explained that Papua’s rice demand reaches around 660 thousand tons per year, while local production is only around 120-124 thousand tons.This shortage of around 500 thousand tons is the basis for accelerating the development of new rice fields and land intensification.
The government calculates that additional planting areas, namely around 20 thousand hectares each in Papua, 50 thousand hectares in South Papua, 17 thousand hectares in Southwest Papua, as well as potential additions in Sorong and West Papua, will be able to cover the food deficit in the next 5-10 years.
“The permanent solution in the future, we will print 100 thousand hectares of rice fields. If this step is consistent, Papua’s food problem will be resolved. There will be no more rice problems. That is our permanent solution,” he said.
Apart from expanding rice fields, Amran emphasized that food stabilization efforts in Papua also include accelerating the distribution of SPHP rice, building warehouses and logistics facilities in areas that do not yet have storage infrastructure, as well as increasing local food production capacity.
The government has allocated around 100 thousand hectares of land in Greater Papua, covering South Papua, Central Papua, West Papua, Southwest Papua, and Mountain Papua, which will be accelerated in 2025-2026.
He also highlighted the importance of food security as a basis for national stability.
“We survived the Covid-19 health crisis. We can survive other crises. But if a food crisis occurs, there will be a political crisis. No country in the world can survive if there is a problem with food. Therefore, our quick step is SPHP, we build warehouses, and the permanent solution in the future is production in our own region,” he stressed.
In dialogue with the Papuan people, Amran also received various aspirations from farmers, livestock breeders and traditional groups.
He responded to requests regarding corn seeds, agricultural mechanization, as well as the development of cocoa, coffee, coconut and smallholder livestock commodities as part of strengthening the local economy.
[Gambas:hitclubapk3 Video]
(del/pta)
