Availability of Fertilizers Help Improve National Food Production

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta - The achievement of increased production and productivity of national strategic food commodities such as rice and maize, by the government currently occurs due to the availability of availability and fertilizer policies implemented until now.

Director General of Agricultural Infrastructure and Facilities at the Ministry of Agriculture, Pending Dadih Permana, said that in the last two years, rice and corn production have been achieved with growth rates of above 5% and 18%, respectively.

"The fertilizer industry must grow. It is inevitable that the acceleration of agricultural production should be supported by a good fertilizer industry, "said Dadih in a seminar entitled 'Performance of Food Sovereignty and National Fertilization' at Santika Premiere Hotel, Jakarta, Wednesday (30/8/2017).

"Fertilizer is one of the production inputs that must be fought," said Dadih. Besides fertilizers, the availability of superior seeds and agricultural machine tools is also a factor. Senior Researcher of the Center for Socioeconomic and Agricultural Policy, Achmad Suryana, said that the current use of Urea, SP36 and KCl fertilizer has been efficient in most provinces in Indonesia.

"Besides, it is also less responsive to the price increase, meaning that the price is no longer the main determinant for farmers in buying and using fertilizer," said Suryana.

He said the availability and use of fertilizers in a balanced manner with '6 Tepat' by farmers has managed to push the achievement of production and productivity of national strategic food commodities which in recent years is a separate record.

Head of Soil Research Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture, Husnain, said balanced fertilization can contribute more than 20% to increased production. This data is supported by previous studies.

"The effectiveness of the application of balanced fertilizer can be achieved when considering the determinants such as soil nutrient status and fertilization techniques," he said.

Marketing Director of PT Pupuk Indonesia, Koeshartono, said that the company supports food security program through guarantee of ready-made fertilizer supply and spread all over Indonesia territory as well as distributing fertilizer to all corners of the country, and to overcome the remote areas that are difficult to reach.

"Indonesian fertilizers add buffer warehouses and provide transportation facilities to remote kiosks and to convert fertilizer needs to be handled in remote areas so that the distribution of subsidized fertilizers can meet the exact 6 rules of time, type, location, quantity, quality and price" he said.