Agriculture Ministry Distributes 300 Water Pumps in Indramayu to Tackle Drought

The Ministry of Agriculture has distributed 300 water pumps to Indramayu Regency to address irrigation constraints on agricultural land during the dry season. The assistance is focused on irrigating rice fields in the border area between Indramayu and Subang regencies.

Head of the Indramayu Food Security and Agriculture Office, Sugeng Heriyanto, stated that the total aid received amounted to 300 water pump units. “The water pump assistance is being used to overcome irrigation challenges, especially during this dry season,” Sugeng said on Friday (3/7).

According to Sugeng, the Sukra District area is one of the locations receiving special attention from the Ministry of Agriculture. This is due to its strategic location and the availability of water from the Kali Sewo, which remains sufficient for farmers’ needs. However, the main challenge on the ground is that the river’s position is lower than the surface of the rice fields.

“The only issue is that the river is situated below the rice fields, so pumps must be used to get the water into the fields,” he explained.

Overall, the hundreds of water pumps are targeted to irrigate approximately 16,000 hectares of agricultural land in the border region of the two regencies. The breakdown includes 6,000 hectares of rice fields in Indramayu Regency and 10,000 hectares of agricultural land in Subang Regency.

Sukra District Head Sigit Widiyanto expressed similar optimism. He believes the presence of the agricultural machinery assistance will directly impact the continuity of the planting season and significantly boost the achievement of the Additional Planting Area (LTT) target in his region.

“With this pump assistance, we are very optimistic that the additional planting area in the Sukra District can increase significantly,” Sigit concluded.