"He has approved an Rp14 trillion (US$904 million) budget for additional (subsidized) fertilizers, and this is his extraordinary attention to Indonesian farmers," Minister Sulaiman stated in Sokaraja Sub-district, Banyumas District, Central Java, on Wednesday.
He accompanied President Jokowi during the agenda of planting rice in Sokaraja Kidul Village, Sokaraja Sub-district.
Speaking in connection with this, Sulaiman, representing Indonesian farmers, expressed gratitude to President Jokowi.
He explained that since being inaugurated as agriculture minister, he had traveled to 11 provinces for two months.
During his trip to the regions, most farmers complained about the lack of fertilizers that had decreased the production.
"We fix the regulation, the quantum, and the volume. In terms of regulations, we revoked Ministerial Regulation No. 10 of 2020," he remarked.
The regulation was revoked, as the farming community needed to use the farmer's card to access the fertilizer.
"These farmer cards are problematic. First, they are inaccessible in remote regions because of non-existent networks. Second, (farmers) forget their PIN (personal identification number), or they lost it, so they could not take the fertilizers," he remarked.
Sulaiman noted that if the farmer dies, then that individual's farmer card is no longer valid.
Meanwhile, the minister noted that the land remains and is inherited by their children, grandchildren, or the next generation.
"Therefore, we revoke and revise (the regulation) according to the farmers' requests, and they can use identity cards (KTP) to redeem subsidized fertilizers throughout Indonesia," the minister stated.
Furthermore, he said that the state fertilizer producer Pupuk Indonesia Holding Company (PIHC) has 1.7 million tons of fertilizers that can be accessed throughout regions.
Translator: Sumarwoto, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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