Food is a matter of the life and death of a nation.Jakarta (ANTARA) - Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) Puan Maharani launched the “Plant Twice, Harvest Twice” program in Toba District, North Sumatra Province, on Friday to strengthen food security in Indonesia.
"Food is a matter of the life and death of a nation. Thus, (realizing) Indonesia's food security is a must," she remarked in a statement issued here on Friday.
Usually, harvesting is done once a year, she noted.
Hence, to increase crop production, agricultural innovations and breakthroughs need to be implemented, she said.
"Such as the ‘Plant Twice, Harvest Twice’ program which we launched today," she added.
In addition to boosting agricultural productivity, the House Speaker said she expected the program to improve farmers' income and welfare.
"Given the importance of the agricultural sector in improving the welfare of the Indonesian people, the DPR RI has paid attention to several problems in the sector," she remarked.
Hence, her party is continuing to accommodate the aspirations of farmers in various regions and seeking their solutions along with the government.
"Still, the DPR RI cannot work alone. It is necessary to work together with regional, provincial, district, and city governments if we want to improve the welfare of farmers and realize Indonesia’s food security," Maharani said.
She further said that she expects the planting program to be beneficial for farmers and the people of Indonesia.
Thus, the implementation of the program should be intensified, she suggested.
On the same occasion, she also planted corn and sowed rice seeds. It is planned that 10 thousand hectares of land in the district will be planted with corn.
The House Speaker also said that her party would help farmers from the district in the procurement of corn planting machines.
Meanwhile, Head of Toba District Poltak Sitorus said he expected that the DPR RI will assist the region to overcome the scarcity of fertilizer products as well as support the provision of organic fertilizers.
He also expressed the hope that the DPR would help repair damaged provincial roads since the condition causes the commodity prices to increase due to additional transportation costs.
"Regarding organic fertilizers, we will think about it later, thus there will be an organic fertilizer processing plant in Tapanuli Raya," Maharani said in response to Sitorus’ statement on fertilizers.
Related news: BBSPJIA can help mitigate food security challenges: Industry Ministry
Related news: Ministry enhances food security budget effectiveness against inflation
Translator: Melalusa Khalida, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
