Iswahjudi Air Force Base Harvests Sugarcane to Support National Food Security Programme
Magetan (ANTARA) - The Iswahjudi Indonesian Air Force Base (Lanud) carried out a simultaneous sugarcane harvest on land within the base compound as an effort to support the national food security programme.
Commander of Iswahjudi Air Base, Air Marshal TNI Muchtadi Anjar Legowo, said the Air Force not only safeguards the nation’s airspace but also plays an active role alongside communities in supporting food security, a central government programme.
“We, the TNI, together with the surrounding community, are working to support the government’s food security programme. The Air Force’s contribution from sugarcane could reach 45 per cent of national sugar demand, while the Army’s rice production reaches 50 per cent of national rice demand, and likewise the Navy with soybeans at 0.5 per cent,” he said during the mass harvest of sugarcane, rice and soybeans on TNI-managed farmland, led online by President Prabowo together with local farmers on land around Iswahjudi Air Base in Maospati District, Magetan, East Java, on Friday afternoon.
According to him, the simultaneous sugarcane harvest conducted by the Air Force is a tangible demonstration of agricultural success and a form of synergy with local farmers in supporting national food security, particularly for sugar.
“So essentially, through this activity the TNI wants to show real work in supporting national food security, whether from sugarcane, rice, or soybeans,” he said.
Specifically in the Iswahjudi Air Base area, he explained, unused land converted for agriculture totals 68 hectares. Of that area, around 62 hectares are used for sugarcane, while the remainder is planted with other crops such as rice and vegetables.
He explained that the sugarcane variety planted is Bulu Lawang, with an estimated yield of around 60 tonnes per hectare and a sugar content (rendemen) of 6 per cent.
The number of local farmers involved in cultivating the farmland exceeds 100 people. This represents a form of mutualism, in which residents gain employment while the TNI gains agricultural output to achieve the food self-sufficiency targeted by President Prabowo Subianto.
The sugarcane harvest event held in the Iswahjudi Air Base agricultural area in Magetan was attended by representatives of the Magetan Regency regional leadership coordination forum (Forkopimda), senior officials of Iswahjudi Air Base, officials from the Rejo Agung Baru, Rejosari and Poerwodadi sugar mills, and a number of other guests.