Ministry of Agriculture Prepares Pumped Irrigation to Maintain Water Supply in Lamongan
Lamongan, East Java (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Agriculture is preparing pumped irrigation for Lamongan Regency, East Java, as an effort to maintain agricultural water availability during the dry season.
Director General of Land and Irrigation at the Ministry of Agriculture, Hermanto, in Lamongan on Saturday, stated that the irrigation facility would soon be installed to ensure optimal water distribution to farmlands.
“We want the available water to be utilised optimally by farmers. Because the reservoir conditions are estimated to still be sufficient with a water level of around three metres; it’s just a matter of how to channel it to the farmlands,” he said.
He explained that the installation of pumped irrigation is targeted for no later than next week to anticipate drought risks for rice crops that are currently over one month old.
According to Hermanto, this step is taken to keep agricultural productivity stable and prevent crop failure ahead of the harvest period in June.
For information, pumped irrigation is a watering system that uses pumps to draw water from sources such as rivers, wells, or reservoirs, then distributes it to farmlands through open or closed channels.
This system is generally used for lands that are positioned higher than the water source or not reached by technical irrigation networks.
The implementation of pumped irrigation is considered effective for anticipating drought on rain-fed lands, expanding planting areas, and increasing farmers’ harvest frequency in one year.
Data from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) indicates that the start of the dry season in East Java is predicted for May 2026, with peak drought occurring in August to September and potential rainfall reduction of 20–40 per cent due to the El Niño phenomenon.
Head of the Lamongan Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Joko Raharto, mentioned that 15 sub-districts and 71 villages in the area are predicted to be affected by drought during this year’s dry season.
“That data is what we submitted to East Java Province for anticipation and mitigation purposes, especially in managing water resources and providing irrigation support for the agricultural sector,” he said.
Lamongan Regent Yuhronur Efendi previously stated that the local government has conducted cross-organisational coordination among regional apparatus (OPD) to map water sources and ensure the second planting season does not experience crop failure.
In addition, the Lamongan Regency Government is also normalising reservoirs and rivers to optimise water source utilisation during the dry season.