"We want to encourage farmers, as the main actors, to be more productive," he said while visiting two villages in Cirebon, West Java, according to a written statement from his office on Friday.
He visited the villages as several farmers in those areas have received the ministry's facilities and infrastructure assistance.
Jamil reviewed irrigation facilities and water pumps installed to ensure the availability of water in rice fields.
In Gegesik Wetan village, Jamil visited 330 hectares (ha) of agricultural land that had experienced water availability problems.
To address this, the ministry has provided five pumps and rehabilitated the agriculture irrigation networks.
The use of pumps and irrigation networks is expected to increase farmers' planting frequency and productivity.
Meanwhile, Kepringan village has 700 ha of land that can potentially be used for agriculture, Jamil said. Currently, water pumps have been provided for 190 ha of land.
He emphasized that, in addition to reviewing infrastructure and facilities in the two villages, the provision of water pumps and the rehabilitation of the irrigation network must directly reach the farming community to ensure that all agricultural land gets sufficient water.
Farmers in the villages use water pumps for additional irrigation needs in rice fields. By using this infrastructure, the community is expected to plant and harvest rice three times a year.
"So, farmers can get more income annually,” he said.
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Translator: Fianda Sjofjan Rassat, Kenzu Tandiah
Editor: Anton Santoso
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