Agricom.id, CENTRAL LAMPUNG - Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL), governor of Lampung, vice governor of Lampung and the members of Commission II, Indonesian Legislators did harvest and plant paddy in the Village of Tempuran, Sub district of Trimurjo, District of Central Lampung. The harvest covered about 335 hectares (ha) within Inpari 32.

The groups of SYL also witnessed the harvest mechanism process by combine harvester and the planting by four wheel – tractor. There was demonstration about spraying liquid materials by drone to make the straw and singgang as the organic material faster and planted paddy by rice trans-planter.

In his speech, SYL told that what he saw is the right one to make the better leap. “The agriculture is the power of a nation. If it is about to see a good country, take a look at the agriculture,” he said.

Indonesia is in Covid-19 pandemic and it is in the third quarter. The agriculture is the only one sector which develops the income of the country and in the society of all sectors. “The agriculture developed 16,42 %, and did extraordinary exports which reached Rp 258 billion in July and August. There were additional numbers for about Rp 30 billion," he said, as in the official statement to Agricom.id.

“What I want to tell you is that the economy in the world gets shocked in the pandemic. Many countries are significantly in minus but we have 5% minus and we are heading to the better progress,” he said.

He did appreciate Lampung Province by launching Kartu Petani Berjaya as the answer of every issue in agriculture in the province. “I would keep encouraging the agriculture. We should have the better, more independent, and modern agriculture. Everything is in the card,” he said.

The event was done in Gapoktan Sumber Makmur and about to accelerate the second planting in 1 October 2020 to March 2021. Central Lampung is one of the biggest district producing paddy covering the total areas about 464.103 hectares (ha) and the productivity for about 4,66,tons/ha. The harvest in the activity was 8 tons/ha.

Governor of Lampung, Arinal Djunaidi said that Lampung as the agriculture locomotive nationally should give impacts to welfare the farmers and increase the economy in Lampung (in special) and Indonesia (in general). He also told that the agriculture is the main sector in the province.

For information, Lampung Province has the standard paddy fields covering 361.699 ha. In 2019 the paddy harvest covered 464.103 ha within the productivity about 2.16 million ton milled dry grain or equal to 1.24 million tons of rice.

“50 percent of the people of Lampung are farmers who live in the villages. They run their agricultural business better, the better productivity increased their welfare too,” he said when launching Kartu Petani Berjaya.

He did hope that this could make the farmers easy to fulfill the production tools, capital in the post-harvest, and selling their products.

In the same occasion, General Director of Food Plantation, Ministry of Agriculture, Suwandi told that District of Central Lampung gave the big parts to the paddy production nationally. The support of ministry of agriculture was given by the helps of production tools or agricultural tools. For the food plantation, the helps covered the seeds, the cultivation and the post-harvest tools. “Let the government think the way,” he said.

He did ask the farmers for advantaging kredit usaha rakyat (KUR). “We have prepared KUR for every food commodity. Please, advantage it as best as you can, namely for the paddy milling to get and buy the farmers’ grain within the proper price,” he said.

In the event, ministry of agriculture gave helps, such as, power threser, rice milling unit, insurance, KUR, paddy seeds, corn seeds, cassava seeds, and other within the total helps Rp 208,245 billion. (A2)