Papua Province strengthens food sovereignty through agricultural land development programme
Jayapura — The Department of Food Crops, Horticulture and Food of Papua Province is strengthening the foundation of food sovereignty through an agricultural land development programme across Jayapura Regency, Sarmi Regency, and Keerom Regency.
Lunanka V.M.L. Daimboa, Head of the Department of Food Crops, Horticulture and Food of Papua Province, stated in Jayapura on Monday that this initiative represents a concrete effort by the regional government to strengthen food resilience whilst reducing reliance on rice supplies from outside Papua.
According to Lunanka, through the agricultural land development programme, the Papua Provincial Government aims for continued growth in local rice production whilst creating new economic opportunities for communities in farming areas.
“The initial planting was conducted in Muara Tami District, which is one of three agricultural zones prepared by the provincial government this year,” she said.
She added that overall, the Papua Provincial Government is targeting the development of agricultural land covering up to 30,000 hectares. This target forms part of the regional government’s strategic agenda to promote self-sufficiency and strengthen food sovereignty in Papua.
Meanwhile, Papua Governor Mathius D. Fakhiri stated that agricultural development focuses not only on land expansion but also encompasses the construction of supporting infrastructure, such as irrigation systems, farm roads, and post-harvest facilities to increase productivity and quality of agricultural output.
“Therefore, this policy represents Papua Provincial Government’s support for the national food security programme whilst serving as an effort to curb regional inflation through increased local food production,” he said.
He expressed confidence that with support from district governments and active community participation, Papua can become one of the major food granaries in eastern Indonesia.
“We want Papua to grow from the agricultural sector. With cooperation from all parties, I am confident that our food security will grow stronger,” he said.