Government boosts agricultural production through pompanisation programme

Magelang (ANTARA) - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that the government is continuously promoting increased agricultural production through the pompanisation programme to optimise dry land. “This effort is considered capable of increasing farmers’ harvest frequency from once to two or three times a year,” he said during an inspection of a water pump in Banyu Urip Village, Magelang Regency, Central Java, on Thursday. He explained that the installation of water pumps has had a significant impact on agricultural productivity. “What used to be harvested once can now be done three times because the pump has been installed,” he said. He mentioned that to support the programme, a budget of Rp4 trillion to Rp5 trillion has been allocated for pompanisation activities. Covering up to one million hectares of land, it is estimated that additional production could reach six million tonnes of unhulled rice, assuming an average productivity of six tonnes per hectare. This programme is seen as a quick step in increasing national food production, in line with efforts to develop new paddy fields and optimise swamp land. “This is what is called an increase in planted area. The land remains the same, but the planting frequency increases, so the harvest potential can reach three times on one hectare,” he said. He added that to support pump operations, the government has also prepared fuel allocations. He noted that a quota of up to one million tonnes of diesel is available for farmers. He said that the diesel quota has been coordinated and agreed upon with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM). The government is optimistic that through the combination of pompanisation, new paddy field development, and swamp land optimisation, national agricultural production can increase significantly.