East Jakarta City Government Targets 20-Ton Rice Harvest from Simultaneous Planting Initiative

The East Jakarta City Government targets a rice harvest of 20 tons through a simultaneous planting initiative at 162 locations spread across 10 sub-districts. “The potential rice harvest in Cakung, covering an area of four hectares, is estimated to reach 20 tons,” said the Head of the Food Security, Maritime, and Agriculture Sub-Department (KPKP) of East Jakarta, Taufik Yulianto, during the simultaneous planting event at the Bali Lestariku Farmer Group in Ujung Menteng, Cakung Sub-District, East Jakarta, on Friday. Taufik noted that the largest potential harvest comes from Cakung Sub-District, which has the most dominant planting area compared to other sub-districts. In addition to rice, the planting drive also targets corn and vegetable production. From the planting of 13,079 corn seeds, it is estimated to yield around 1.2 tons of corn. Meanwhile, from 19,500 vegetable seeds planted, the potential harvest is estimated to reach approximately 100 kilograms. Taufik explained that this activity is a form of synergy between the East Jakarta City Government, the East Jakarta KPKP Sub-Department, the DKI Jakarta KPKP Department, the Seed Development and Plant Protection Centre Unit, and PT East West Seed Indonesia or Panah Merah. He detailed that the total area planted in the simultaneous drive reaches 4.7 hectares or about 47,277 square metres. The planting locations are spread across 162 points in 10 sub-districts in East Jakarta. The breakdown of planting locations in each sub-district includes Cakung with 24 locations and 96,920 seeds, Duren Sawit with 23 locations and 4,035 seeds, Cipayung with 23 locations and 3,392 seeds, Kramat Jati with 16 locations and 725 seeds, and Matraman with 15 locations and 310 seeds. Furthermore, Ciracas and Pasar Rebo sub-districts each have 15 planting locations with a total of 2,446 seeds and 2,350 seeds, respectively. Makasar Sub-District has 13 locations with 1,329 seeds, Jatinegara has 11 locations with 1,287 seeds, and Pulogadung has five locations with 250 seeds. To support the success of the planting drive, the East Jakarta KPKP Sub-Department is also distributing various agricultural production inputs to all sub-districts. The assistance includes glutinous corn seeds, sweet corn, shallots, fertiliser, plant nutrients, and plant protection resources from pests and diseases. In addition, planting media support is provided to facilitate on-the-spot (OTS) planting at several locations. PT Panah Merah is contributing by supplying Bonanza MB F1 sweet corn seeds, which is one of the flagship commodities in the event. Through this simultaneous planting drive, Taufik hopes that urban agricultural productivity can continue to increase, while optimising the utilisation of idle land into productive land that provides economic and food benefits for the community.