The Agriculture Ministry’s staff expert, Ruswandi, said corn was one of commodities developed by the government under its sustainable agriculture program. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is aiming to strengthen Indonesia’s food resilience and independence as well as improve the prosperity of farmers in the country.

Ruswandi said the Agriculture Ministry had obtained Rp 30.6 trillion (US$2.30 billion) from the 2016 state budget (APBN). Such a huge budgetary allocation, both to improve the farmers’ prosperity and to achieve the targets of anew paddy field opening program, reflected President Jokowi’s high attention to the agriculture sector, he added.

“One of the sustainable agriculture programs is growing the corn. Data shows that Indonesia harvests 2.6 million tons of corn and 1.5 million tons of soya beans per year. The Agriculture Ministry’s programs are focused on improving the prosperity of farmers in areas across Indonesia. Food availability and farmer prosperity are highlighted in President Jokowi’s programs in the field of agriculture,” said Ruswandi.

He was speaking during the hybrid corn harvest in Compang Ndejing village, East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara, on Thursday. Officials from the East Nusa Tenggara Agriculture and Food Resilience Agency and the East Manggarai administration attended the event.

Ruswandi said the Agriculture Ministry had continued to develop its sustainable agriculture program, which was focused on organic farming. He said the government aimed to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers as many natural materials could be processed into fertilizers that would effectively maintain the fertility of soil.

Ruswandi said geologically, the Greater Manggarai area, which covered Manggarai, East Manggarai and West Manggarai, was not suitable for mining. Thus, all local leaders must prioritize the management of farmland in the area.

He said mining could damage the environment and this was a fact that could be witnessed in all areas across Indonesia. A land damaged by mining could not be used again.

Robertus Ongo, head of food resilience at the East Nusa Tenggara Agriculture Agency, said the administration had named East Nusa Tenggara a “corn producing area”.

Citing the agency’s data, Ongo said both corn production and corn farming areas in East Nusa Tenggara had continued to increase. As of 2016, there was 81,000 hectares of corn farms in 23 regencies and municipalities across the province.

“Amid a long dry spell caused by uncertain weather, farmers in all villages in East Nusa Tenggara have continued to increase corn planting to support their food resilience. We express our thanks to all farmers in East Nusa Tenggara,” said Ongo.

He further said in terms of producing corn seeds, the East Manggarai regency ranked first, followed by the Sikka and Nagekeo regencies.

“We thank the East Manggarai administration, which has continued to support its farmers to grow corn and other horticulture plants,” he said.

East Manggarai Regent Yoseph Tote said 53 percent of residents in the regency were farmers. They not only cultivated paddy fields but also planted corn and other horticulture plants on critical land.

“We are grateful farmers in Compang Ndejing village can benefit from this dry land by planting hybrid corn. They are the pioneers of a movement to plant hybrid corn on critical land. The East Manggarai administration will continue to pay attention to farmers by developing infrastructure, such as irrigation systems, dams and embung [small artificial lakes],” said Yoseph. (ebf)

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