After meeting Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman on Monday, Transmigration Minister Iftitah Sulaiman said his side would help the Ministry of Agriculture to fulfill workforce requirements in the food estate.
"Transmigration Ministry will provide the workforce along with the housing for the agricultural land to achieve food self-sufficiency," he remarked.
His side would also help build residential areas with proper welfare.
"The area we are about to build will not only focus on economic growth but also build a civilization for residents living there. The focus is on welfare," he emphasized.
Furthermore, Agriculture Minister Sulaiman stated that the food barns utilized by the food sector transmigrants are located in Wanam-Merauke, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, and South Sumatra.
"Especially in Wanam, the transmigrants are local," he noted.
Sulaiman remarked that transmigrant workers would later receive a minimum monthly income of Rp10 million (US$606), considering that the land is managed using a modern agricultural system.
Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Food, Zulkifli Hasan, remarked that optimizing the productivity of food sources is one of the keys to realizing food self-sufficiency.
According to the minister, the optimization strategy encompasses improving and expanding irrigation infrastructure, ensuring rapid fertilizer distribution, and streamlining complicated regulations.
In addition, opening and developing new lands for agriculture or food production is important to realize food self-sufficiency. The potential for new land is found in Merauke, including for rice field development.
The Transmigration Ministry is also preparing other programs for transmigrants to work in other sectors apart from agriculture.
Minister Iftitah then outlined the possibility of sending transmigrants to areas with maritime potential in Indonesia.
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Translator: Ahmad Muzdaffar, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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