Government Revives Fish Ponds and Rice Fields Affected by Sumatran Disaster After Eid

Jakarta — The government will revive fish ponds and rice fields buried under mud following the Sumatran disaster after Eid al-Fitr 1447 H/2026 M.

The Minister of Home Affairs and Head of the Task Force for Accelerated Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (PRR) following the Sumatran disaster announced this commitment after coordinating with the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono and Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman.

“Many affected residents have asked about the shrimp ponds and muddy rice fields. I’ve just coordinated with the Marine Affairs Minister. When will this be realised? We’ve already conducted mapping and will implement this after Eid,” said Tito following a coordination meeting at the Ministry of Defence in central Jakarta on Tuesday (17 March 2026).

Currently, related ministries are mapping fish ponds and rice fields according to two categories: those that can be planted directly and those requiring prior cleaning.

“Directly planting is called land optimisation. But when it’s filled with just rocks and wood, it can’t be planted. That must be cleaned as part of the new rice field programme, even though it’s an old field. But the budget is for new rice field development,” Tito explained.

Completion will depend on the area of fish ponds and rice fields affected.

“Many fish ponds are in northern and eastern Aceh. For rice fields, besides lowland areas, there are impacts in Aceh, Central Tapanuli, South Tapanuli, West Sumatra’s Agam and Padang Pariaman districts. So the Agriculture Minister has much more work to do,” Tito concluded.