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Fertilizer subsidy to double this year, says agriculture minister
The agriculture minister has announced that the President had agreed to increase the budget and quota for subsidized fertilizer this year by a little over double last year's figures to Rp 54 trillion (US$3.4 billion) and 9.5 million tonnes, with distribution to begin within a week.
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A farmer spreads fertilizer on his paddy field in Lamteuba, Aceh, on Aug. 22, 2022. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin )
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griculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said on Thursday that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo had agreed to double the fertilizer subsidy and quota for 2024, and that the distribution of subsidized fertilizer would begin in one week at the latest.
The state budget initially allocated Rp 26 trillion (US$1.65 billion) and a quota of 4.7 million tonnes for subsidized fertilizer, but both figures are to be increased a little over twofold to Rp 54 trillion and 9.55 million tonnes this year.
"Alhamdulillah [Praise be to God], there has been a meeting about food with the president-elect and the current president. This echoes the voice of the people. It means that farmers don’t ask for much. They need fertilizer, good prices, that’s it," Amran said during a visit to Grobongan, Central Java, as quoted by Kompas.com.
The minister also emphasized that the government was committed to providing farmers with free, high-quality seedlings for an allocated coverage of 2 million hectares for rice and 2 million hectares for corn.
Amran added that the government would intensify irrigation efforts at rainfed areas across the country as part of its initiative to mitigate the prolonged impacts of El Niño while enhancing agricultural productivity.
"Specifically for Java, we plan to target a minimum of 500,000 hectares. We're prioritizing Java due to its significant production share, which accounts for 70 percent of the total. We're also aiming for an additional 500,000 hectares outside Java," he said.
During his meeting with Amran and representatives from state-owned fertilizer maker PT Pupuk Indonesia Holding Company (PIHC), Grobogan Regent Sri Sumarni expressed his concern that local farmers had complained about the complex distribution scheme for subsidized fertilizer.
