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View all search resultsGovt focuses on securing water to mitigate earlier, longer dry season
With the dry season forecast to arrive early and last longer due to a potential shift to El Niño, the government is readying several agricultural measures, including AWD to maintain optimal rice production.
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Farmers thresh rice on Feb. 18, 2026, in Martubung subdistrict, Medan. (Antara/Yudi Manar)
T
he Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast that this year’s dry season will begin earlier and last longer than usual, particularly in the country’s western and southern regions.
Some areas are expected to see the season start as early as mid-April, and prolonged dry conditions can leave farmers vulnerable to crop failure, planting delays and production declines.
Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said the government had prepared comprehensive measures to address the issue, focusing on reinforcing irrigation systems and expanding water extraction.
“Water is the key factor. Therefore, strengthening irrigation, pumping [water] and seed support must go hand in hand so farmers can continue to produce optimally,” Amran said in a statement on Friday.
During a press conference on March 4 in Jakarta, BMKG head Teuku Faisal Fathani said mitigation efforts must extend beyond agriculture “by strengthening the water resources sector through reservoir revitalization and improvements in distribution networks, to ensure water availability for both domestic needs and hydropower operations”.
The national weather agency previously noted that the atypical pattern of this year’s dry season was linked to the end of a weak La Niña in February, which had transitioned to a neutral phase and might shift into El Niño by midyear.
The agency projects the dry season to peak in August across 61.4 percent of the country, with the peak arriving in July and September for other regions.
