"The President gave a time that in 2–3 months, it must have been finished, and at least those who are eligible to receive fertilizers must (have received them)," he said at the Presidential Palace complex here on Wednesday.
According to him, the President has called for an improvement in the program and concept for the distribution of subsidized fertilizers so that they can be implemented accurately in the field in terms of time, target, recipients, and fields.
The available budget is only sufficient for allocating 8–9 million tons of subsidized fertilizers, he noted. Therefore, the mechanism for the distribution of subsidized fertilizers must be effective and right on target.
The national need for subsidized fertilizers is more than 20 million tons, Limpo added.
"For this reason, the President ordered us, fertilizers should not be insufficient," he said.
The minister informed that he will strengthen coordination with the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), the National Food Agency, state-owned fertilizer holding company Pupuk Indonesia, and regional governments.
"Starting from preparing the fertilizers in line 1 in provinces, line 2 in districts, line 3 in sub-districts, to line 4. The coordination must be more mature, and we hope this agenda will not take too long," he added.
He further said that his ministry will validate the data of recipients for the allocation of nine million tons of subsidized fertilizers.
Earlier, President Widodo had said that most farmers that he had met with had complained about the availability of fertilizers, particularly subsidized fertilizers, for supporting their crop production.
Problems related to the distribution and availability of fertilizers are not only being faced by Indonesia but also all countries, he pointed out. This is due to the war between fertilizer suppliers Russia and Ukraine.
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Translator: Indra Arief, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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