Presidential Staff Office Oversees People's Rice Field Printing Programme in Ogan Komering Ilir

Chief of the Presidential Staff Office Dudung Abdurachman has conducted a direct inspection of the national priority People’s Rice Field Printing (CSR) programme in Tanjung Baru Village, Ogan Komering Ilir Regency, South Sumatra, to ensure the optimal expansion of Raw Rice Field Land. “I have checked the mechanism on the ground. The terrain here is indeed very challenging because it is swampy and the soil conditions are acidic. However, the community and farmers here, thank God, are very supportive and happy with this programme,” said the retired General Dudung, quoted from an official KSP statement in Jakarta on Thursday. South Sumatra Province is one of the regions with the largest Rice Field Printing programme target in Indonesia, reaching 13,000 hectares. Ogan Komering Ilir Regency itself holds the largest portion with a target of around 7,000 hectares, while specifically for Tanjung Baru Village, the target is 200 hectares. “I emphasise to the farmers, there must be no conversion of the land we have already printed. Do not let it be planted with oil palm or other commodities instead. This is a priority programme of President Prabowo for the expansion of rice fields for the nation’s progress and food self-sufficiency,” he said firmly. To maintain the sustainability of this farming enterprise, the government is committed to providing intensive assistance during the first three planting seasons. Farmers are guaranteed to receive fertiliser and seeds free of charge, and crop development will be monitored periodically by Field Extension Officers. The involvement of the Ministry of Public Works is expected to ensure that the design of primary, secondary, and tertiary irrigation networks can function optimally to irrigate the rice fields, as the fields will not function well without smoothly flowing water. Based on the results of this inspection, the Presidential Staff Office is pushing for the acceleration of the physical construction process through to the planting and harvest periods. The KSP also requested strengthened cross-ministerial coordination, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency, and the Ministry of Environment, to mitigate the risk of overlapping land status for the welfare of farmers.