Deputy Minister: Irrigation Development Accelerated to Boost Food Production

The government is allocating around Rp12 trillion every year to repair primary, secondary, and tertiary irrigation systems throughout Indonesia to increase agricultural productivity.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono emphasised that the government, under the leadership of President Prabowo Subianto, is accelerating the construction and rehabilitation of agricultural irrigation networks as a strategic step to increase national food production and strengthen farmer welfare.

Deputy Minister Sudaryono explained that the government has allocated an annual budget of approximately Rp12 trillion to improve irrigation networks ranging from primary to tertiary levels, which have historically hindered agricultural productivity increases.

“The President has decided that irrigation issues must no longer be hindered by bureaucracy. If local regions are unable to carry out repairs, the state must step in. Therefore, the government is allocating around Rp12 trillion every year to improve primary, secondary, and tertiary irrigation across Indonesia to boost agricultural productivity,” said Sudaryono in Batam, Riau Islands, on Monday, while attending the inauguration of the Regional Leadership Council of the Indonesian Farmers Harmony Association (DPD HKTI) in Riau Islands.

According to Sudaryono, the acceleration of irrigation development is one of President Prabowo’s key breakthroughs in strengthening national food security.

For many years, many irrigation networks have not functioned optimally due to complications regarding the division of authority between central, provincial, and district/city governments.