1,500 Hectares of Rice Plants in Demak and Kudus are Threatened by Puso

Ministry of Agriculture launches efforts to save flooded rice. Meanwhile, PT Pupuk Indonesia has prepared 2 million tons of subsidized fertilizer.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI. The original article can be found in 1.500 Hektar Tanaman Padi di Demak dan Kudus Terancam Puso

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

One of the farmers who suffered losses after the rice crops they planted were damaged by a flood in Limbangan Village, Undaan Sub-district, Kudus Regency, Central Java, on Monday (12/2/2024). As of now, the flood still inundates residential areas and has cut off access to the main Pantura road between Demak and Kudus. The process of closing the embankment and reinforcing the embankment that broke is being carried out at several points to reduce the widening impact of the flood.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Floods inundated 7,795 hectares of agricultural land dominated by rice in Demak, Kudus and Grobogan Regencies, Central Java. The Ministry of Agriculture stated that 1,500 hectares of them are threatened with puso or crop failure.

The flooding in those three regions has been occurring since February 5th, 2024. When the flood in Grobogan began to recede, the flood in Demak and Kudus continued to spread due to the breach of the embankment of the Wulan and Jratun Rivers on February 8th, 2024.

The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) recorded that as of Tuesday (13/2/2024), the flooded agricultural land in Demak covered an area of ​​2,839 hectares (ha). Of that planting area, 1,400 ha is estimated to have failed. In Kudus, floods inundated 212 hectares of agricultural land, and 100 hectares are also estimated to have experienced crop failure.

In Grobogan, flooded agricultural land covered an area of 4,744 hectares. The flood in most of the agricultural land areas has started to recede. For several areas that are still slightly inundated, they are now being handled with pumping to minimize crop failure.

Also read: Tens of Thousands of Residents Displaced Due to Demak Floods, Embankment Repairs Accelerated

Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that seed, fertilizer, pumps, and harvest equipment assistance has been distributed to three regions totaling Rp 30 billion. The agricultural sector affected by floods and included in the Rice Farmer Business Insurance (AUTP) program will receive 75 tons of fertilizer.

"We continue to coordinate with relevant stakeholders to reduce water puddles in several rice fields that can already be handled with water pumps. This way, in the coming weeks, the rice can still be harvested," he said through a press release in Jakarta on Tuesday.

We also continue to coordinate with relevant stakeholders to reduce water stagnation in a number of paddy fields that are already possible to be handled with water pumps.

Amran also stated that the Ministry of Agriculture has irrigated farmland in areas with low rainfall, both in Java and outside of Java, using water pumps. The total land sown in December 2023 and January 2024 has reached 1.5 million hectares and 1.7 million hectares, respectively.

"The planted area surpassed the monthly target. If we want to meet the monthly demand, we have to plant at least 1 million hectares per month," he said.

Also read: Potential Rice Surplus Haunted by Flood and Fall Risk

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

Translated article: The activity of packaging non-subsidized urea fertilizer was conducted in one of PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur's (PKT) warehouses in Bontang, East Kalimantan on Monday (12/6/2023). Approximately 50 percent of the fertilizer produced by PKT is for domestic use, both subsidized and non-subsidized, while the remaining is exported, particularly the granule type of urea. The main destination countries for PKT's products export are India, Vietnam, Australia, and several other Asian countries.

The Ministry of Agriculture also continues to coordinate with PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) to add and distribute subsidized fertilizer. This is related to the addition of subsidized fertilizer funds amounting to IDR 14 trillion this year which was approved by President Joko Widodo.

The CEO of Pupuk Indonesia, Rahmad Pribadi, explained that originally the budget for subsidized fertilizer this year was Rp 26 trillion for 4.7 million tons of fertilizer. With an additional Rp 14 trillion, the total subsidized fertilizer will increase to 7.5 million tons. Currently, the additional funds are being processed.

"While waiting for the process, Pupuk Indonesia was asked to distribute the previously budgeted 4.7 million tons of subsidized fertilizer for the first planting season. If the supply runs out, subsidized fertilizer from additional budget will be distributed for the second planting season," said Rahmad.

With the addition of Rp 14 trillion, the total amount of subsidized fertilizer will increase to 7.5 million tons.

Until now, Pupuk Indonesia has prepared 2 million tons of subsidized fertilizer for the first quarter of the year, which is estimated to last until April 2024. A total of 1.1 million tons of it have been distributed to the centers of rice production in Indonesia.

According to the National Food Balance Prognosis for 2024 released by the National Food Agency, the government has set a target of producing 31.93 million tons of rice this year. This figure is higher than the realized production of rice in 2022 and 2023, which were 31.54 million tons and 30.89 million tons respectively. The government also plans to import 2.44 million tons of rice.

Also read: Rice Limbung