Less Than Two Years into Term, Andra Soni Inaugurates Seven Irrigation Areas
Banten Governor Andra Soni has inaugurated seven Irrigation Areas (DI) spread across four central food granary regions. The inauguration, occurring less than two years into his leadership, is part of his commitment to strengthening regional food security, increasing farmer productivity, and enhancing farmer welfare.
The seven irrigation areas include DI Cisata, Cilember, and Cisangu Atas in Pandeglang Regency; DI Cibinuangeun and Cikoncang in Lebak Regency; Ciwuni in Serang Regency; and Cilampek in Tangerang Regency. The total length of the handled infrastructure is 6.90 kilometres, covering 881.28 hectares of paddy fields, with a total project value of Rp48.91 billion sourced from the 202cap Banten Provincial Budget for the 2025 fiscal year.
The inauguration was centred at DI Cisata, Tegal Village, Cikedal District, Pandeglang Regency, on Wednesday (2/9). Six other locations followed virtually, attended by their respective regional heads.
Andra Soni stated that the inauguration of the irrigation systems today is a tangible manifestation of the Banten Provincial Government’s commitment to providing basic infrastructure services that offer direct benefits to the community, particularly to farmers.
“Building irrigation means building the foundation of food security, increasing agricultural productivity, and simultaneously improving farmer welfare,” he said in a written statement on Wednesday (2/9/2026).
Furthermore, through Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 2 of 2025 to support food self-sufficiency in Banten Province, State Budget (APBN) support covers 12 irrigation areas with a total handling length of approximately 81.80 kilometres and a service area of 9,259 hectares, with a budget ceiling of Rp471.92 billion.
Through this collaboration, the irrigation service area has increased from 52.5 per cent to 62.45 per cent. Moving forward, the programme will continue to be implemented in stages to support food security programmes in Banten Province, including upstream management to ensure the water supply in the irrigation systems remains well-maintained.
“If the irrigation is good, we just need to handle the upstream areas. This way, when entering the dry season as we are now, the water stock to the paddy fields remains flowing and farmers can continue to increase their productivity,” he explained.
To further enhance farmer welfare, Andra Sini will expand the Ministry of Agriculture’s Modern Advanced Agricultural System (MAAS) programme in Banten. Through this system, crop productivity is expected to increase from approximately 6 tonnes per hectare to 12 tonnes per hectare.
“We will protect our paddy fields, repair our irrigation channels, manage our upstream areas, maintain the price of fertiliser and rice, and increase productivity so that farmers become more prosperous. That is our commitment,” Andra Soni asserted.
On this occasion, Andra Soni also greeted several farmers, both on-site and virtually, and provided agricultural equipment assistance to the Telaga Baru Farmer Group (Poktan).
Aprudin (55), a member of the Telaga Baru group, expressed that he has been greatly assisted by the irrigation channel revitalisation programme initiated by Governor Andra Soni. He noted that the Cisata irrigation channel plays a vital role in supporting local agriculture.
“Previously, this irrigation was not functioning well, so the water flowing to the fields was minimal,” he said. Due to this issue, farmers here could only rely on rainwater, which made planting inconsistent and risky during droughts.
Ubeh (55), another farmer, added that previously, farmers could only achieve a maximum of about 6 quintals per plot of land per harvest. He welcomed the revitalisation of the Cisata irrigation channel, noting that while they previously managed only two harvests a year, they could now potentially reach three harvests with better productivity.
The Telaga Baru group, consisting of approximately 54 members, is ready to support all government programmes, including the modernisation of agricultural methods initiated by the Governor.
The Head of the Banten Provincial Public Works and Spatial Planning Office (PUPR), Arlan Marzan, added that under Andra Soni’s direction, he is committed to strengthening the irrigation network in Banten, including upstream management. He noted that while irrigation networks do not create water, they ensure that available water is distributed and utilised as efficiently as possible by the community and farmers.