Thousands of Hectares of Flood-Affected Rice Fields Begin Replanting
Efforts to restore rice fields affected by hydrometeorological disasters in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra are showing significant progress. As of 7 May 2026, the rehabilitation process for agricultural land carried out by the Post-Disaster Acceleration Task Force for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (Satgas PRR) in Sumatra has reached thousands of hectares of disaster-impacted farming areas.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, the total target for restoring affected rice fields in the three provinces is 42,702 hectares, supported by a budget of Rp337.97 billion. Of this, 16,670 hectares of land have entered the recovery construction phase, while 4,098 hectares have been fully rehabilitated. In addition, 2,212 hectares of land have been reworked, and 2,110 hectares have begun replanting by farmers.
The most notable progress is seen in West Sumatra Province. Of the 3,902-hectare recovery target, 3,809 hectares—or 98 percent—have entered the construction phase, and 2,583 hectares have been rehabilitated. Indeed, more than 2,100 hectares of rice fields in the region have been replanted.
In North Sumatra, rehabilitation of 5,201 hectares of rice fields has entered the construction phase. Meanwhile, in Aceh, the recovery process is being accelerated, given that the impacted area is the largest among the three provinces at 31,464 hectares. Several areas such as East Aceh, North Aceh, Bireuen, and Pidie Jaya are now showing rehabilitation progress, including canal works, reshaping of rice field plots, and land preparation.
Spokesperson for Satgas PRR, Amran, stated that rice field recovery is one of the government’s priorities because it directly relates to the economic sustainability of communities and food security in the affected areas.
“Rice field recovery efforts continue to be pushed to strengthen community food resilience. The government has also distributed aid and transfers to the three affected provinces,” Amran said during a Satgas PRR press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday, 6 May 2026.
According to him, accelerating rice field rehabilitation is not only aimed at making the land productive again but also plays a crucial role in speeding up post-disaster community recovery, particularly for thousands of farming families who rely on the agricultural sector for their livelihoods.