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Drought affects 103,000 ha of rice fields in 100 regencies/cities
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A farmer leads his goats across a dried rice field in Cimanggu village, Tasikmalaya, West Java on Tuesday.
(Antara/Adeng Bustomi)
D
rought is taking its toll on nearly 103,000 hectares of rice fields in at least 100 regencies and cities across the country after 30 days without rain.
Speaking after attending a coordination meeting in Jakarta on Monday, Agriculture Ministry Agriculture Infrastructure Director General Sarwo Edhy said the worst-affected regions were parts of Banten, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenngara.
“There has been no rain in the last 30 days in major parts of Java, Bali and Nusa Tenggara. As a result, most than 100 regencies and cities are suffering from droughts,” said Sarwo as reported by news agency Antara.
Sarwo explained that the drought had affected 102,746 ha of rice fields, 9,358 ha of which failed to produce crop.
He said East Java was the worst-province in terms of affected acreage (34,006 ha), followed by Central Java (32,809 ha), West Java (25,416 ha), Yogyakarta (6.139 ha), Banten (3,464), West Nusa Tenggara (857 ha) and East Nusa Tenggara (55 ha).
Agriculture Ministry Food Crop Director General Sumardjo Gatot Irianto said the dry season presented an opportunity to develop swampy areas into agricultural fields. (bbn)
