Pests threaten rice in Bengkulu<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Pests threaten thousands of hectares of rice in South
\nBengkulu, while food aid continues flowing in to 12 villages
\nfacing starvation in Rejang lebong regency.<\/p>\n
Muklis Ibrahim, chief of the agriculture office in South
\nBengkulu, warned local people of the possible spread of the pests
\nto other regencies in the province.<\/p>\n
\"The spread of the pests to other villages and other regencies
\nwill have a serious impact on rice levels in the province,\"
\nAntara quoted him as saying in Bengkulu on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He conceded he had received many reports from government
\nofficers in the field on the locally known wereng pest, which
\nhave attacked dozens of hectares of ripe rice plants in the
\nvillage of Rimbo Kedui, Seluma subdistrict, in South Bengkulu.<\/p>\n
The local administration has also called on farmers in
\nneighboring villages to spray pesticide to safeguard their paddy
\nfields.<\/p>\n
\"If the pest spreads to other villages in the regency and
\nbeyond it will have a serious impact on local farmers and
\njeopardize the province's rice stock,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Separately, Mangsuri Thaib, chief of the local horticultural
\noffice, said tens of thousands of hectares of paddy fields in the
\nregency would be threatened if the pest was not eradicated.<\/p>\n
He said his office would continue providing necessary
\ninformation for local farmers on how to fight the various kinds
\nof pest and encourage them to plant rice seeds twice a year to
\nensure that the province remains sufficient of rice.<\/p>\n
\"The province's self sufficiency in rice must be achieved in
\nanticipation of the possible long dry season this year,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the central government has pledged to distribute
\n100 tons of rice to more than 4,400 people facing starvation in
\n12 villages in Rejang Lebong regency.<\/p>\n
Chairuddin, spokesman for the local administration, said the
\noffice of the coordinating minister for people's welfare has
\npledged rice assistance to help villagers who have faced
\nstarvation over the last four months, because the pests forced
\nthem to convert their farming land to coffee plantations.<\/p>\n
The farmers could no longer purchase rice and other basic
\ncommodities because of the falling price of coffee to Rp 3,000
\nper kilogram over the last 14 months in the province.<\/p>\n
According to Antara, the situation in traditional markets in
\nthe regency remains crowded but residents of the 12 villages have
\nno purchasing power because of the plunge in the price of coffee.<\/p>\n
\"The price of coffee has fallen drastically so that coffee
\ngrowers are no longer able to meet their daily needs,
\nparticularly in basic commodities. That is why many villagers
\nhave gone to forest areas to find substitute staple food,\" said
\nCik Zainal, a resident of Cinto Mandi village in Bermani Ilir.<\/p>\n
The local administration has also called on local people to
\ndiversify their farming to support its food resilience program.<\/p>\n
So far, residents of the 12 villages have received a total of
\n70 tons of rice as humanitarian relief from the family of
\nSudirman Ail, chief of West Java Police, the local social affairs
\noffice and a private TV station in Jakarta.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pests-threaten-rice-in-bengkulu-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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