The iron in the soil affects the PH level. The plant turns yellow and the soil is not very fertile.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The national food barn program in Merauke district, Papua province, has been hampered by the high iron content in the soil, which is affecting soil fertility, chief of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP), Moeldoko, has informed.

"We need an element to neutralize the iron content," he said at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Monday.

According to him, the Merauke food barn program, which was launched by the government in 2010, has not shown significant progress.

The rice crop planted at the food barn is not growing optimally due to the high iron content in the soil, which is affecting the PH level in the local area, Moeldoko explained.

"The iron in the soil affects the PH level. The plant turns yellow and the soil is not very fertile," he said.

Efforts to realize Merauke as a national food barn require consistent efforts from the government to neutralize the iron in the soil, he added.

"This condition must be studied; why the development of agrifood is not running well in Merauke? We must solve this," he affirmed.

He said that the late national businessman Arifin Panigoro once visited Merauke in 2015 to harvest rice from the modern rice fields that he had developed.

At that time, Panigoro was developing five thousand hectares of rice fields in Merauke using a modern concept and the latest technology, as implemented in other countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and the United States, Moeldoko informed.

"However, he could not keep the project. I have also visited the land," he added.

On Monday, Moeldoko submitted a routine report to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) regarding the rice crop cycle in Indonesia, which tends to experience a decline in production in December and January.

"We always report to the President regarding worrying season, including in January. In previous years, rice production usually tended to decrease in December and January. It will increase in February and reach its peak in April for the harvest season," he said.

Related news: Government to establish food estate in Merauke as KEK
Related news: Village fund to help Merauke become national food barn: minister
Related news: Daily MSME transaction value at Merauke reaches Rp82 mln











Translator: Andi Firdaus/Indra Arief P, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2023