Pupuk Indonesia Provides Free Soil Testing Services for Farmers
Palembang (ANTARA) - Asia’s largest urea producer, PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero), is providing free soil testing services for paddy fields and plantations owned by farmers to ensure the soil is in a fertile condition before planting activities commence.
“For farmers who wish to utilise the mobile service unit, the Mobile Soil Testing Unit (MUT), to check if their land is fertile or not, they can contact the toll-free telephone line 08001008001,” said Regional Chief Executive Officer 1 of Pupuk Indonesia, Eko Suroso, during an iftar gathering with journalists in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Tuesday.
He explained that to provide soil testing services for farmers in the South Sumatra region (Sumbagsel), covering South Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu, Lampung, and Bangka Belitung, the company is currently operating three MUT units.
The MUT team will schedule movements as quickly as possible to provide services to areas where farmers have contacted the officers via the toll-free line.
“For farmers who need free soil testing services, do not hesitate to contact the MUT team,” said Eko Suroso.
Meanwhile, the Coordinator of Pupuk Indonesia’s MUT for South Sumatra and Bangka Belitung, Gianto, added that requests for soil testing services in the two provinces under his jurisdiction are still low.
“Up to now, few farmers have utilised the MUT; to increase its usage, we continue to strive to socialise the benefits of soil testing before planting,” he said.
He explained that the benefits of conducting soil tests are to determine whether the condition of agricultural and plantation land is good or not, in order to achieve maximum production results.
The problems commonly faced by farmers include crop production not meeting expectations, small fruits, fruits that rot easily, fruit drop, and pest and disease disturbances.
Some factors affecting crop production include genetics, with the solution being that farmers must select superior seeds.
Then environmental factors such as temperature, water, air, weather, and pests and diseases.
Soil factors include its physical properties, texture, soil structure, chemical content, nutrients, and biology, namely living organisms in the soil such as worms and other microorganisms that provide nutrients.
The condition of farmers’ soil is mostly “sick” or saturated because it is often cultivated but rarely improved.
For sick soil, the solution is neutralisation with lime and organic materials, or using ready-to-use products from PT Pupuk Indonesia to improve the soil condition so that it becomes fertile again, Gianto explained.