After witnessing the first harvest of upland rice in Tulang Bawang Barat district, Lampung province, Hartarto said he expected the optimization of upland rice commodities in various regions.
"We appreciate the first harvest of upland rice that used technology and conducted trials. Upland rice is expected to continue to provide positive results, especially in food estates with limited water," he explained here on Saturday.
He also called upon local governments and all levels of society to build a more competitive agriculture sector, upstream to downstream, with higher productivity.
It is hoped that farmers can use quality seeds and apply agricultural mechanization to achieve food self-sufficiency and make a positive contribution to the national economy, the minister said.
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Upland rice was one of the crops selected to realize the food consumption program because it can be grown on dry land, Hartarto said. Its cultivation presents a solution for utilizing ex-plantation land and can be suitable even in areas with low rainfall, he added.
Many provinces in Indonesia have cultivated upland rice, including Lampung province, he noted.
Based on Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data, Lampung province produced 2,472,587 tons of dry unhusked rice (GKG) in 2021, accounting for 4.47 percent of the national production of 55,269,619 tons of GKG, with productivity pegged at 50.40 Kw/Ha, he said.
In Tulang Bawang Barat district alone, rice production reached 30 thousand tons of GKG in 2020, he pointed out.
Meanwhile, the government's commitment to food security has been proven by the agricultural sector that has been able to survive the pandemic, the minister said. The agricultural sector supported the economy by growing 2.08 percent (year on year) in the fourth quarter of 2021, he added.
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Translator: Satyagraha, Kenzu T
Editor: Suharto
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