Facing El Niño, Ministry of Agriculture Has Mapped Millions of Hectares of Impacted Rice Fields

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that his ministry has mapped 1.5 million hectares of rice fields potentially affected by extreme drought resulting from the Godzilla El Niño. Amran said that 170 regencies/cities have registered to access facilities for 80,000 pump units to irrigate 1 million hectares of rice fields impacted by El Niño. “They registered directly today for the pumps, about 80,000 units, covering roughly 1 million hectares. And for those who come diligently, we expedite the assistance. The regions? Ah, there are 170 regents here,” Amran said during a press conference at the Ministry of Agriculture office in Jakarta on Monday (20/4/2026). Moreover, Amran gathered 170 regents/mayors from across Indonesia today to discuss the plantation programme being intensified by President Prabowo Subianto. The agriculture sector, Amran said, has been allocated special diesel from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM). “Diesel is not a problem because agriculture has its quota; we are collaborating with the ESDM Minister. We have a diesel quota for agriculture,” Amran stated. Beyond the use of pumps, the government is also preparing irrigation so that hundreds of thousands of hectares of other rice fields can still receive water supplies during the dry season. “Pump irrigation and so on covers 1.5 million hectares across Indonesia,” Amran said. This rice variety is said to have a shorter planting period. “The assistance is already underway; we have budgeted for it. Perhaps the total estimate is Rp 2 trillion,” Amran added. Furthermore, Amran mentioned that the national rice stock has been calculated and is estimated to be sufficient for the next 11 months. In addition, the government has calculated the standing crop rice stock (ready for harvest) at 11 million tonnes.