The Central Sulawesi Government (Sulteng) is optimizing land resource utilization through intensification and extensification efforts to develop farming in the crop and horticulture sub-sectors. "Enhancing economic competitiveness in agriculture involves not only farming but also leveraging business opportunities," said Nelson Metubun, Head of the Central Sulawesi Food Crops and Horticulture Office (TPH), in Palu on Monday. He explained that the Provincial Government of Central Sulawesi has a medium-term agricultural development strategy and policy for 2021-2026, which is crucial for sustainable agriculture. The strategy includes accelerating the development of national and regional leading commodities according to market opportunities, characteristics, and regional potential, with the implementation of good cultivation technology. Additionally, the strategy focuses on increasing the added value and competitiveness of food crops and horticulture commodities, and enhancing productivity through technical assistance and guidance in location-specific technology application. "At this level, the Provincial Government of Central Sulawesi, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, has taken steps to strengthen farmer capacity through rural empowerment programs and agricultural development initiatives," he added.
The next strategic step involves empowering farmers by providing production facilities such as seeds, fertilizers, agricultural tools, and machinery according to their needs. According to TPH data, Central Sulawesi has a Sustainable Food Agricultural Area (KP2B) of 492,852.29 hectares, utilized as rice fields and gardens by local farmers in the crop and horticulture sub-sectors. The target commodities for medium-term agricultural development include food crops like rice, corn, various beans, and tubers, as well as horticultural products such as chili peppers, tomatoes, shallots, potatoes, bananas, ginger, citrus, durian, and ornamental plants. "The regional government policy aims to achieve sustainable self-sufficiency in strategic local commodities for food security, industrial raw materials, and export," Nelson stated. He added that the subsequent policy direction is to boost the development of region-based farmer economic institutions and modern agriculture to attract millennials to engage in agriculture, facilitating generational regeneration. "Agricultural management is becoming increasingly modern, and if these opportunities are not utilized, our farmers will fall behind. Here, the role of millennials is crucial for contributing to national agriculture," he concluded.
