Secretary of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs Susiwijono Moegiarso also took the time to attend the Golden Melon fruit harvest together with the Governor of East Java and the Mayor of Madiun on a working visit to Madiun City, Saturday (11/6). Harvesting the golden melon, which is one of the leading commodities, is included in the series of activities for the 104th Anniversary of Madiun City. Melon is a plant that belongs to the pumpkin tribe or Cucurbitaceae. Melon fruit that can be harvested 3 times a year is also the economic support of the people in the area around Madiun City. Based on data reported by the Central Statistics Agency, East Java Province is the largest melon producer in Indonesia with production in 2021 recorded at 68,527 tons. Ngrowo Bening Edu Park, which is the location for the golden melon fruit harvest, is a former vacant land that was previously a swamp. On this land with an area of approximately 10 hectares, various types of horticulture are planted in the olericulture (vegetables), floriculture (ornamental) and fruticulture (fruit) categories. The planting of golden melon itself has used a modern farming system using a green house that can accommodate about 1,800 melon trees. In addition to harvesting melons, the Madiun city government also introduced processed products from the porang plant which can be an alternative food for the people. In the series of the anniversary of the city of Madiun, also known as the city of Warriors, various processed products from the porang plant were served, including porang rice, pecel porang, to dawet porang. Furthermore, the porang plant also has great economic potential because it is a plant that can be used for various purposes, ranging from low-calorie food, industrial adhesives, to health and beauty products.
Porang exports had reached its peak in 2020 which reached 20.5 tons with a value of Rp. 924.3 billion. Japan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Thailand are the main destination countries for Indonesian porang exports. East Java Province itself is the second largest center for producing porang plants after East Nusa Tenggara Province and is the largest porang plant processing industry in Indonesia. "The government strongly supports efforts to develop regional superior commodities in the form of horticultural plants and porang plants and their processed products, because in addition to driving the people's economy, these processed porang products can also be an alternative food for the people and support food security, which is one of the current global issues," said Susiwijono. Meanwhile, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa welcomed and appreciated the various efforts made by the Madiun city government in encouraging the economy and improving people's welfare, especially in the agricultural sector, through planting various horticultural products in the city of Madiun. The Mayor of Madiun H. Maidi also said that the existing idle lands were used by the Madiun city government to produce agricultural products of economic value, as well as to meet food needs and improve the welfare of the community.
