Merauke - In order to support the food emergency anticipation program in South Papua Province, the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) is implementing a swamp land optimization program to support food needs in Papua.
This is also an effort to significantly increase agricultural productivity as an effort to increase food independence and national food security.
"In addition to pompanization, the government continues to move quickly to optimize swamp land to increase productivity," said Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman in Merauke, Wednesday (17/4/2024).
According to him, the effort is to increase the efficiency of water use and reduce the risk of flooding or waterlogging that can damage agricultural crops.
Minister Amran ensured that the development of rice and corn production this year is going very well. This is because the government has so far continued to irrigate rice fields on the island and outside Java using water pumps.
"As a result, the planting area in the January 2024 planting season reached 1.7 million hectares. If we want to meet our monthly needs, we must plant at least 1 million hectares per month," he said.
On the other hand, Amran also said, the Ministry of Agriculture also provides free seed incentives to farmers who want to expand.
"We also continue to distribute additional fertilizers for the farmers," he said.
Meanwhile, Director General of Agricultural Infrastructure and Facilities (PSP) Ali Jamil explained that in 2023, 300 ha of swamp expansion has been carried out in Tanah Miring District, Nguti Bob Village, Merauke Regency.
Gapoktan Usaha Maju as a recipient of swamp opla assistance has completed the construction of a 7 km long tertiary channel to regulate the availability of water entering the land.
"In addition, a pump house has also been built for 2 units of 8-inch pumps and their equipment and an additional 4 units of 4-inch water pumps to help irrigate land in the area in order to accelerate planting," said Ali Jamil.
"Soil cultivation has been carried out in all of the 300 ha of land, the Planting Index which was originally 1 time, with the help of pompanization now becomes IP 2 or two crops in a year," he said.
Ali Jamil added that Ministry of Agriculture is again utilizing and developing swamp land as an alternative to increase rice production. This is a special effort to increase rice production, according to the direction of the Minister of Agriculture to anticipate food emergencies and to increase the utilization of paddy fields in the Merauke swamp area, in 2024 20 thousand hectares of swamp land optimization activities will be allocated. (InfoPublik)