Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo (Mentan SYL) escorted the rice planting movement in the Food Estate area to strengthen national rice production in facing the challenges of the global crisis. This is one of the government's concrete steps in utilizing swamp land for the development of the agricultural sector to ensure food availability. "Currently we are with the Regional Government and the Danrem working on this large area but later the people will manage this with existing institutions and process according to the agricultural and food ecosystem. And tomorrow the people of Kalimantan must say that from Kalimantan, Indonesia is Sturdy Food and that is what we will achieve in Kalimantan," said the Minister of Agriculture after carrying out a planting movement in the Village of Bangun Jaya Block A5, Dadahup, Kapuas, Central Kalimantan (Central Kalimantan), Saturday (26/11/22). He added that the development of swamp land as a food field for the present and the future is considered very strategic and prospective in supporting food security. This is considering the very fast population growth on the one hand, many agricultural lands are changing functions. "We have only learned this 1 to 2 years and the results are quite good. Therefore, we do not only rely on this Food Estate from rice but corn, coconuts and we hope that our coconuts will become, our fruits will be, our mangoes will be" said Syl.
Currently, the contribution of swamp agricultural production to the share of national food production is still low because it is constrained by the condition of the land which is still marginal. Then water management needs to be improved and local culture and limited human resources that will manage agricultural land. "Yes, at least later there will be several hundred to millions of coconut trees that we can develop gradually and later a new coconut factory belonging to the people, not entrepreneurs, can be established," said SYL. The Minister of Agriculture SYL further emphasized that the development of the Food Estate food crop area in Central Kalimantan's swampland is a breakthrough effort to increase food production and national food reserve stocks, especially rice, especially in anticipating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the world food crisis. Strengthening food production in the future must be guaranteed so that Indonesia is able to fulfill itself and even export to other countries. "We are fixing this again and this agenda must continue, not for one, two years, we can already see the results. What results we have now are certainly not the results like the ones we saw before. The future is prepared for the presence of stronger Indonesian food security. ," he stressed. Simultaneously, the Director General (Dirjen) of Agricultural Infrastructure and Facilities (PSP) of the Ministry of Agriculture Ali Jamil said that since mid-2020 until now he has allocated a Food Estate program in Central Kalimantan Province on an area of 62,455 ha. This is for the development of the main commodity (rice) through land intensification and extensification activities as well as the development of supporting commodities (horticulture, livestock and plantations). Ali said the development of the Food Estate area was an effort across ministries, the TNI and local governments. The involvement of the TNI is urgently needed, based on efforts to anticipate and respond quickly to changes in the dynamic strategic environment. "We would like to thank the ranks of the TNI-AD who have helped implement and assist the implementation of the program at the Ministry of Agriculture to the fullest. Together we will build staple food nationally," said Ali.
