Minimizing the Impact of Drought, the Ministry of Agriculture Requests a Drought Mitigation Team

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - Overcoming the dry season which is predicted to experience a peak in August and September 2018, the Ministry of Agriculture has taken anticipatory steps to maintain national rice production. In addition to encouraging the use of rice seeds suitable for dry land, the Ministry of Agriculture also prepares pumping in a number of areas for irrigation.

As the target set by the Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman, the Ministry of Agriculture continues to target 1 million hectares of plantations this August. For this reason, the Ministry of Agriculture also formed a special team that directly went into the field to help farmers who need watering.

The Director General of Agricultural Infrastructure and Facilities (PSP), the Pending Dadih Permana Ministry of Agriculture revealed that this special team has coordinated with a number of parties to map and mitigate agricultural production centers. "We sent a special team to coordinate with relevant parties, including the TNI, the Ministry of Public Works and the Local Government in mapping the problems, negotiating the flushing of water from the Dam, and directly involved in carrying out the escort rotation according to the agreed schedule," Pending said in a statement. the press received Monday (8/20).

Pending stipulates that the provision of irrigation water is focused and prioritized on areas that have the potential to experience crop failure. The implementation of the sleigh turn schedule or dividing irrigation schedules that have been compiled at the regional level will be closely monitored. This is done so that drought-prone agricultural lands get sufficient water supply.

In addition, involving the TNI in the execution of staff pickets at each 'building for' location in the irrigation system, to avoid illegally extracting water from the upstream channel. "The community and the entire apparatus will also be encouraged to work together to clean up the garbage contained in the irrigation channels," added Pending.

Especially for water pump assistance, in 2018 there were 3,897 small water pumps, 4,769 medium sized water pumps and 1,381 large pumps. "We ask the region to be able to move water pump assistance to areas that are still possible to optimize existing water resources," Pending said.

Handling in various regions

In addition to directing special teams directly to the field, the Ministry of Agriculture has also formed a drought handling post. Based on data from the Directorate General of Food Crops, rice fields affected by drought until mid-August 2018 were 127,101 ha, and Puso were 25,405 ha. The biggest drought occurred in May to July 2018, which affected an area of ​​87,827 Ha and until a puso occurred covering an area of ​​22,153 Ha. The provinces of West Java, Central Java and East Java were the provinces most affected by drought.

The percentage of puso in Java only reached 1.42% and outside Java 0.19%, so that the national rice field affected by puso was only 0.69%. Puso impact is still very small compared to the existing planting area, so it will not interfere with national production. The key to this year's low puso is also due to coordination and cooperation between relevant agencies whose tasks, functions and authorities can support efforts to anticipate drought.

Rahmanto's Director of Agricultural Irrigation said the posts were established in areas affected by drought, including Indramayu Regency, Karawang Regency, Bandung Regency, Tuban Regency, and Boyolali District. "The government has provided assistance with water pumps, building embungs, trench dams, long storage, pumping and construction that can increase water supply for crops, especially the dry season. In addition, the improvement of tertiary irrigation channels to ensure enough water volume reaches the paddy fields at the end of the channel, "he explained.

In Indramayu Regency, the collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant agencies can save paddy fields threatened by drought in Losarang and Kandanghaur Districts, each covering an area of ​​1,329 ha and 445 ha. While in Boyolali, handling drought through pumping is able to save 490 hectares of rice fields and 25 hectares in Sawir Village, Tambakboyo District, Tuban, and Moho Village, Andong District, Boyolali.

Drought handling was also carried out in paddy fields in Sumber Sari Village, Ciparay District, Bandung Regency. From an area of ​​350 ha there is an area of ​​60 hectares of paddy fields in the downstream which cannot be irrigated. As a precautionary measure for drought in the region, the Ministry of Agriculture provided assistance to 7 pantek well units through the Association of Farmers' Groups (Gapoktan) Sumber Mukti. The assistance can already be used to irrigate 30 ha of rice fields.