"As of today, we have constructed 29 dams, these are large dams, plus nine (dams) later at the end of this year," he said at the West Java People's Conference (Musra) I at Arcamanik Sports Building, here on Sunday.
According to him, the presence of the dams had offered positive impacts on the agriculture sector, especially in rice production. The flow of water from the dams is said to have doubled rice production.
"People may not feel it, but the presence of the dams has resulted in the fact that we have been self-sufficient in rice since 2019," the President remarked.
In addition, the Rp468 trillion fund that the government has disbursed for village development has also improved access roads in villages.
"Thus, 227 thousand kilometers of production roads have been constructed in villages," he said.
On this occasion, he reminded that the world had been hit by food and energy crises. He noted that, according to international institutions, the economy of 66 countries is predicted to collapse due to those crises.
"Therefore, I am happy that farmers are also present here, who have made us three weeks ago received a certificate from International Rice Research which stated that Indonesia's food security system is very good," he said.
Musra is organized by Joko Widodo's National Volunteers. In addition to Bandung, West Java, the conference will be held in all provinces across Indonesia until 2023.
In the forum, all participants of Musra are allowed to express their aspirations related to their hopes for Indonesia or their criteria of leaders.
Related news: 9 of 32 dams under development to be completed this year
Related news: President Jokowi to officiate two dams in East Java
Related news: PUPR Ministry targets to complete constructing nine dams by 2022
Translator: Bagus Ahmad, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
