Farmers in Lebak Regency, Banten Province, have been planting rice for the past week to boost food production and increase the economy in the area. "We hope that planting this month can be harvested in October 2022," said Ahmad (55) a farmer in the Rangkasbitung Central Block, Lebak Regency, Saturday (9/7/2022). The rice cultivation here covers an area of 60 hectares and most of it has been planted with an average age of seven days after planting.
They are rice farmers in the Rangkasbitung Central Block who are the mainstay of the farmers' economy, because food production is supplied to the local market. "Every harvest we can sell four tons of rice equivalent per hectare at a price of IDR 7,500/kg, thus generating an economic income of IDR 30 million," he explained. According to him, he works on one hectare of rice farming with a production cost of IDR 10 million, and if the total income is IDR 30 million, he can earn a net profit of IDR 20 million for 120 days. They farmers here can harvest three planting seasons in a year, because of the high rainfall and the functioning of the irrigation network of the Cijoro Dam. Most farmers have applied agricultural technology using tractors, balanced fertilization between organic and non-organic fertilizers as well as systems, said legowo.
Thus, food production can produce between six and eight tons of grain/hectare. So that farmers can sell in the form of rice as well as the rest for the availability of family food. "This year we are planting Infari 9 rice and the quality is quite good," he said. Sarip (50), a farmer from Kalanganyar Sub-district, Lebak Regency, admitted that he and other farmers are now planting rice, due to the high rainfall so that it can meet the availability of water. "We are here in the category of rainfed rice fields and farmers only plant when the rainfall is high, because we do not have a technical irrigation network," he said. Meanwhile, Head of Production Division of the Lebak Regency Agriculture Service, Deni Iskandar, invited farmers to accelerate planting because of the high rainfall in the area.
In addition, the accelerated planting movement is very beneficial, because it can prevent pests and plant diseases as well as harvesting at the same time so that it supports national food sovereignty. The acceleration of rice planting throughout June 2022 covers an area of 14 thousand hectares. "We are targeting the acceleration of planting in July 2022 to cover an area of 16,000 hectares and realize 30 thousand hectares in June-July," he said.
