Tito Stresses Importance of Agriculture Ministry Support to Accelerate Paddy Field Recovery in Aceh

Interior Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian, in his capacity as Head of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in Sumatra, directly inspected paddy fields covered in mud from flooding in Meurah Dua subdistrict, Pidie Jaya regency, Aceh, on Saturday (21/2).

During the visit, he stressed the importance of support from the Ministry of Agriculture to accelerate the recovery of affected farmland.

On location, Tito explained that approximately 1,500 hectares of community-owned paddy fields had sustained severe damage after being buried under thick mud. The depth of mud at several points reached 50 centimetres to one metre, and was previously reported to be even deeper. In addition, thousands of hectares of other farmland sustained light to moderate damage.

He emphasised that Pidie Jaya regency is one of the region’s food granaries, with a total agricultural area of approximately 8,800 hectares. Consequently, the damage to farmland has the potential to reduce rice production if not addressed promptly.

“This is distressing for the local community, and on top of that, our rice production could also decline,” Tito said in a statement on Saturday (21/2/2026).

Tito further expressed his hope that the Agriculture Ministry would immediately turn its attention to the situation. The acceleration of land rehabilitation was deemed essential to restore the mud-covered paddy fields to productive use.

“Hopefully the Agriculture Minister, Mr Amran Sulaiman, will give immediate attention to the condition of this farmland so it can become productive again,” he said.

Also present during the inspection were Director General of Regional Administration at the Interior Ministry Safrizal ZA, Aceh Deputy Governor Fadhlullah, and Pidie Jaya Regent Sibral Malasyi.