Mud Cleared, 712 Hectares of Aceh Tamiang Rice Fields Ready for Replanting

Mud is being cleared from 712 hectares of rice fields in Aceh Tamiang Regency, slowly transforming the landscape. After months of being covered in sediment from November 2025 flash floods, heavy machinery is now working to remove the sludge that had halted farming activities.

Chairman of the Post-Disaster Recovery Task Force for Sumatra, Muhammad Tito Karnavian, stated that mud sedimentation is the biggest challenge in restoring lowland agricultural areas. ‘This mud is the primary issue in lowland areas. We have identified locations across three provinces and are accelerating resolution,’ Tito said during a press conference at the Presidential Staff Office in Jakarta last March.

According to data from the Post-Disaster Recovery Task Force on 25 May 2026, mud clearance in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra is 100% complete. Specifically in ‘Serambi Mekkah’ (Aceh), 650 locations are now free of sediment.

Thanks to collective efforts, the Aceh Tamiang Agriculture, Livestock, and Plantation Office (Distanakbun) has expedited the rehabilitation of rice fields in Manyak Payed, Bendahara, and Karang Baru districts. The first phase of the programme has a budget of over Rp 9.6 billion.

Head of the Crop and Horticulture Division at Distanakbun Aceh Tamiang, Irwan Hadi, said physical works are underway in several locations including Medang Ara, Paya Awe, Matang Tepa, and Alur Bemban villages. ‘Today’s work is at Alur Bemban and Paya Awe. In Karang Baru District, progress has reached around 16 hectares, focusing on stripping or removing the muddy soil,’ he said on Thursday, 21 May 2026.

He explained that the stripping process is selective, targeting areas with the thickest sediment deposits. ‘Not all rice fields are stripped; only those with thick mud deposits. For example, in Medang Ara village, out of 28 hectares owned by two farmer groups, only around a dozen hectares have had the mud excavated,’ he added.

Besides mud removal, rehabilitation includes levelling bunds, normalising water channels, repairing embankments, and restoring damaged water pumps. All works are covered under the Rp 9.6 billion budget.

Irwan continued, highlighting the challenge of heavy machinery availability. ‘We struggle to find bulldozers as other regions like Bireuen, Pidie Jaya, North Aceh, and East Aceh are also implementing similar programmes,’ he said.

Despite this, Aceh Tamiang Regency Government is pushing to accelerate rehabilitation so farmers can replant soon. This acceleration aligns with the central government’s target to restore agricultural productivity before the peak of the dry season this year.

This was confirmed by the Ministry of Home Affairs Secretary General Tomsi Tohir, also the Task Force secretary, during a coordination meeting with affected local governments on 30 April 2026.

The regency aims to complete rehabilitation of 2,673 hectares by 31 July 2026. Current progress on 712 hectares is about 26%. The local government is working to catch up on the remaining phase to meet the deadline.

For 50-year-old Abdul Karim, the rehabilitation programme offers new hope after his rice fields in Blang Palas, Alur Bemban village, were covered by 20-30 centimetres of mud.

‘We couldn’t work the land at all, not even ploughing. With this land clearance assistance, we now have hope to return to the fields and replant,’ Karim said.

While his fields remained unusable, Karim had to take on odd jobs, using his skills to repair motorcycles and machinery for locals to support his family.