The agricultural sector is the backbone in spurring economic growth. Especially during a pandemic like this. Market opportunities and high added value are potential drivers of agricultural development in the future. This was conveyed by the Head of the Bureau of Public Relations and Public Information, Kuntoro Boga Andri, in Jakarta, Wednesday, June 15, 2022. According to Kuntoro, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the performance of the agricultural sector has proven to make a major contribution to the national economy. “The value of agricultural exports in the last three years has an increasing trend. In 2019, the value of agricultural exports reached IDR 390.16 trillion, in 2020 it rose to IDR 451.77 trillion, and in 2021 it increased again to IDR 625.04 trillion," said Kuntoro.

In addition, the farmer's exchange rate (NTP), one of the indicators used to measure the level of farmer welfare during the period January to March 2022, continues to increase. "The NTP in March 2022 was 109.29, an increase of 0.42% compared to the NTP in February 2022 of 108.83," he said. An increase was also experienced in the farmer's business exchange rate (NTUP). In the March 2022 period, the NTUP was 109.25, up 0.67% compared to the NTUP in February 2022 of 108.53. Kuntoro continued, rice production for the last three years was quite high, even Indonesia did not import rice. "National rice production in 2019 reached 31.31 million tons, increased in 2020 to 31.36 million tons and in 2021 by 31.33 million tons," he said. For this achievement, researcher from the Institute for Economic and Community Research (LPEM) University of Indonesia, Riyanto assessed that one of the successes of Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL) as Minister of Agriculture was the increase in national rice production so that Indonesia was able to hold back imports for three consecutive years. "Usually Indonesia imports. But in Pak SYL's time, I saw that our rice was sufficient, it even tended to be in a surplus. Everything could be controlled and in the last three years we have stopped importing," said Riyanto.

According to Kuntoro, the 5-way-of-action (CB) approach and strategy formulated by the Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo, is capable of realizing the common goal of realizing advanced, independent and modern Indonesian agriculture. "Five ways of acting in the applicable realm have succeeded in articulating future agriculture so that it can be realized now," he said. Indef's Senior Economist, Bustanul Arifin, appreciated the policies and programs carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture for the past three years. According to him, the agricultural sector grew 1.84% and became a cushion for the recession during the COVID-19 pandemic. "If there is no agriculture, it might be a real crisis. So appreciation to the Minister of Agriculture is because agriculture is the pillar of the national economy," he said. Bustanul said, the Indonesian economy so far continues to experience very positive improvements, where in 2021 Indonesia will grow 3.69%. On the other hand, the availability of rice in 2021 productivity will also start to increase. However, Bustanul hopes that the government will continue to increase the scale of its work, especially in dealing with global geopolitics which is currently focused on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The arms war between the two countries has had an impact on increasing the prices of the world's treasures. "My recommendation for national food is that, in the face of geopolitics and global geostrategy which has raised food prices specifically in Indonesia, it must be anticipated so that conditions are even better," he said. Bustanul also hopes that the government will continue to provide assistance to farmers in all villages and centers. Then scale up technology by lowering mechanization. "Assistance and empowerment of farmers in precision agriculture, digitization of food value chains, technological change and ecosystem innovation must be improved," he said.

Source: https://nasional.tempo.co/read/1602354/nilai-ekspor-pertanian-meningkat-tiga-tahun-terakhir