Zulhas: Acceleration of Food Production Centres Needs to be Socialised

Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan has stated that the acceleration of food, energy, and water production centres in Merauke Regency, South Papua, needs to be socialised to all levels of society. “The acceleration of food, energy, and water production centres needs to be socialised to the TNI/Polri, traditional leaders, and the community, because the goal of building food production is for the prosperity of this region,” Zulhas said in a press release received in Jayapura on Wednesday. According to Zulhas, his party has held a coordination meeting aimed at absorbing aspirations and proposals from the community, leaders, and the regional leadership coordination forum in South Papua to be collected and then conveyed to President Prabowo Subianto. “We have also visited Wanam Village, Ilwayab District, Merauke Regency, to see firsthand the progress of rice field land clearing and road construction,” he said. He explained that the review results showed that the acceleration of the food centre area in Merauke is progressing quite rapidly. “Then the construction of the port has also been carried out, a 58-kilometre road has been worked on, and the construction of the airport has also been prepared,” he added. He further stated that of the 10,000 hectares of rice fields in Wanam, 1,200 hectares have been planted with rice and the harvest is estimated for September or October 2026. “If this goes well, Merauke will become a centre of economic growth and this region will certainly be more advanced,” he concluded.