Ministry of Agriculture Accelerates Simultaneous Rice Planting in 38 Districts across East Java to Face El Niño
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) is accelerating simultaneous rice planting in 38 regencies/cities in East Java Province as a strategic step to maintain national food production in the face of potential dry spells due to the El Niño phenomenon.
“This acceleration is aimed at significantly increasing the expanded planting area to ensure food availability remains secure and to support the target of sustainable food self-sufficiency,” said the Head of BBPOPT and the Person in Charge of Sustainable Food Self-Sufficiency (SPB) for East Java, Yuris Tiyanto, in a statement in Jakarta on Friday.
The planting movement, centred in Ngawi Regency, is being carried out by the Directorate General of Food Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture through the Centre for Forecasting and Plant Pest Organisms (BBPOPT) together with the East Java Provincial Government, under the theme “Sawah Bersholawat Supporting Sustainable Food Self-Sufficiency.”
This planting acceleration step also aims to maintain the positive trend in the agricultural sector. It is recorded that the planting area for the period October 2025 to March 2026 has increased by 9.7 per cent, while rice production has risen by more than 2 per cent compared to the same period the previous year.
“Through today’s movement, it is hoped that the increase in expanded planting area can reach 3.4 per cent in one day or twice as much as the previous day. This is not ceremonial, but a movement that must have a real impact,” he stressed.
To support this acceleration, various strategic steps continue to be strengthened, from accelerating land cultivation, optimising irrigation and water pumps, to enhancing cross-sector coordination between local governments, the TNI, extension workers, and farmers.
SIFORTUNA is currently one of the menus on the Operation Room dashboard and is utilised by the Presidential Staff Office (KSP) to deliver production security information to the President of the Republic of Indonesia.
“Through this technology, the potential for pest attacks can be predicted earlier, so control measures can be carried out quickly and accurately,” Yuris added.
Meanwhile, the Head of Food Crops Division of the East Java Agriculture and Food Security Office, Denny Kurniawan, emphasised the importance of simultaneous planting actions throughout the entire production cycle.
“Simultaneous planting must be followed by simultaneous harvesting. We are facing a major challenge from El Niño, but alhamdulillah, East Java has remained number one nationally for the past six years,” he said.
The Deputy Regent of Ngawi, Dwi Rianto Jatmiko, revealed that the agricultural sector in his region continues to show positive performance. Rice production in 2025 reached 772,571 tonnes of dry milled grain (GKG), an increase from the previous year and contributing about 7 per cent to provincial production.
“Ngawi is currently one of the regions with high productivity, even ranking third in rice production in East Java after Lamongan and Bojonegoro,” he explained.
He added that various innovations continue to be implemented, such as developing Sustainable Environmentally Friendly Agriculture (PRLB), modernising irrigation, and utilising agricultural technology to face climate change challenges, including the potential El Niño predicted to occur in mid-2026.
Previously, the Minister of Agriculture and Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), Andi Amran Sulaiman, emphasised that food self-sufficiency is a priority agenda that must be realised through fast and integrated work.
“We must move quickly, accurately, and together. Food self-sufficiency is a national need that cannot be delayed,” Amran said.