West Papua Governor meets Agriculture Minister to discuss strengthening food sector
Manokwari, West Papua — West Papua Governor Dominggus Mandacan held a meeting with Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman to discuss strengthening agricultural development and food security in West Papua.
The meeting, held in Jakarta on Thursday, aimed to strengthen coordination between the provincial and central governments in accelerating agricultural sector development, which is a priority for regional development.
“Agricultural development is one of the main priorities of West Papua Provincial Government in improving community welfare,” said Dominggus in a written statement received in Manokwari, West Papua, on Thursday.
He explained that West Papua possesses substantial land resources for developing various commodities, ranging from food crops, horticulture, plantation and livestock, including local leading commodities.
However, agricultural development faces several challenges, including rising food demand, competition for land use, and the influx of agricultural products from outside West Papua that could potentially introduce pests and plant diseases.
Other challenges include limited agricultural infrastructure, water resource management, access to financing for smallholder farmers, and the impacts of climate change affecting food production sustainability.
Consequently, the provincial government requested support from the Agriculture Ministry in the form of strategic policies, priority programmes, and budgetary support to strengthen agricultural development and food security in the region.
“Support expected from the central government includes the development and improvement of agricultural infrastructure such as farm roads, irrigation networks, and post-harvest facilities,” he said.
Additionally, the provincial government is promoting optimisation and protection of agricultural land through the establishment of sustainable food production land (LP2B), strengthening food production centres through superior seed provision, fertiliser, and agricultural equipment and machinery.
“The implementation of mechanisation and appropriate technology as well as the enhancement of agricultural human resource capacity are also important considerations in developing this sector,” he said.
In the meeting, West Papua Provincial Government also expressed support for the nationally integrated poultry processing programme initiated by the Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health to support the national strategic Free Nutritious Meals programme.
The West Papua Department of Livestock and Animal Health is currently completing the construction of a mini animal feed factory with production capacity of approximately 1,000 kilograms per hour to be managed by the Technical Implementation Unit for Animal Breeding and Forage Production.
The provincial government hopes for Agriculture Ministry support in supplying animal feed raw materials such as maize and soy beans, providing laying and meat chicken breeding stock, constructing poultry slaughterhouses, and cold storage facilities.
“The synergy between the central and provincial governments can be further strengthened to realise inclusive, competitive, and sustainable agricultural sector development in West Papua,” said Dominggus.