In facing El Nino, we need concentration and good cooperation between the central government and regional governments
Bandarlampung, Lampung (ANTARA) - Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo has asked Lampung Province to contribute to meeting national food needs to help the nation face the El Nino threat.

"My visit to Lampung is to carry out a national movement to face El Nino," he said during a coordination meeting held in Central Lampung District, Lampung, on Wednesday for anticipating the impact of El Nino in the province.

According to Limpo, Lampung Province is one of the regions that have been appointed as food buffer regions to face El Nino together with West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Sumatra, and South Sulawesi.

"In facing El Nino, we need concentration and good cooperation between the central government and regional governments," he said.

He explained that Lampung and several regions have been selected as food buffer regions to anticipate a decline in national production in several regions due to the El Nino phenomenon.

"We are preparing various things regarding the El Nino impacts, and these provinces were chosen because the rice buffer stocks and the productivity trends are good," he added.

He noted that his ministry has initiated several schemes for provincial and district governments in Lampung to carry out agricultural intensification to face El Nino.

"In Lampung province, we are offering agricultural land intensification; it could be 30 thousand hectares, 50 thousand hectares, or 100 thousand hectares," he informed.

It is hoped that if at least 100 hectares of farmland is intensified well, it could contribute to the community, with the economic turnover reaching Rp30 billion (around US$1.97 million), he said.

"Thus, Lampung must be the best region in increasing production, and it seems that the regional government is very serious and enthusiastic about supporting the national interest in preventing food shortages during drought," the minister added.

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Translator: Ruth Intan, Raka Adji
Editor: Sri Haryati
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