Agricom.id, NTT - Ministry of Agriculture Indonesian Republic urged to develop chili regions for those where chili is deficit to support chili self-sufficiency. One of the support is in District of Kupang, Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT). Seen from the production and needs, Kupang is deficit of kinds of chili which reached 2000 tons per year. Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL) firmly said his commitment to make every region get enough horticultural stocks, such as, chili. This is the focus of the government to allocate chili regions.

In 2020, NTT got the allocation of chili development covering about 626 hectares in 19 districts. Not only that, the province also got allocation from the central (government) covering 90 hectares in District of Sumba Barat Daya, Nagekeo, and Belu. On the other hand, the help could increase the farmers’ welfare, starting from the food needs and school of the children to the higher level. If directly visiting chili farmers in NTT, it would reflect extraordinary spirit to do chili development and business.

Head Sub Directorate of Kinds of Chili, Dessi Rahmaniar told her visit in Kupang. In the dry, rocky areas as the characteristic in Timor Island, she met Jonathan, the farmer who cultivates and depends on water from the boreholes. He himself made the boreholes which spent about Rp 50 million.

“It spent Rp 50 million to make boreholes. The electricity from the first planting to the harvest forced me to spend the other Rp 5 million. This is my modal to plant chili,” he said, as in the official statement to Agricom.id.

Not only that, it is promising to plant chili.  The other chili farmer in Sub district of Oesao, Sub district of Kupang Timur, Mama Ana successfully put her two of five children in undergraduate level.

“I have five children and two are undergraduate level. I did it from cultivating vegetables and chili. I have about 1 hectare area where I depend on our lives,” she proudly said.

Mama Dina told the same. Her chili business for about one year succeeded changed her wooden house to be concrete one.

Back to Dessi, she said that in this year, Mama Dina got allocation from the Expenditure to develop chili covering 2 hectares. She hoped that she would get more spirit to do chili business to increase the income and the production would supply other regions in Kupang, Dessi told. (A2)