It is since domestic agricultural productivity is affected by low levels of organic elements in the existing agricultural land, Director General of Agricultural Infrastructure and Utilities at the Ministry, Ali Jamil, stated during a meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR RI) here on Wednesday.
Jamil remarked that one of the targets of the Ministry of Agriculture is to raise the productivity of agricultural products, such as rice, from 5.19 tons of dry unhusked rice (GKP) per hectare to six tons per hectare.
According to Jamil, the productivity of agricultural products can be increased by replenishing nutrient levels in the land through the use of fertilizers. "The organic materials can be supplied from organic or biological fertilizers," he remarked.
Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture Kasdi Subagyono pointed to a decline in the composition of organic elements in agricultural land on account of continued use of chemical fertilizers, erosion incidents, and other causes.
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Technically, Subagyono affirmed that his team was already sentient of the fact that the continuous use of chemical fertilizers impacted crop production, as it degrades soil productivity.
"Hence, we are already thinking about a suitable program for it," he added.
He further noted that an instrument of the Organic Fertilizer Processing Unit (UPPO) was already in place to yield natural fertilizers that can be built in agricultural centers, while farmers can independently produce the fertilizers by UPPO.
He explained that UPPO has the potential to be developed and built in several agricultural areas to restore nutrients in agricultural land due to the use of chemical fertilizers.
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Translator: Aditya R, Kenzu T
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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