Agricom.id, HUMBAHAS - Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL) and Coordinator Minister in Maritime and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan directly saw the planting of food estate in District of Humbang Hasundutan (Humbahas). Food estate in horticulture should be finished to plant in January next year (2021).

“The cultivation in food estate nearly reached 90 percent. The making of spots to plant and the cultivation hardly reached 70 percent. In this December, Insya Allah would be 100%. The making of plastic mulch and the planting would be sooner. It is just about to take the people (to plant). Just like the target and in January 2021 Insya Allah, it would be finished, SYL said when visiting food estate in Village of Ria-Ria, Sub district of Pollung, District of Humbahas, Friday (18/12/20) as in the official statement to Agricom.id.

SYL also said that food estate in Humbahas is develop in horticultural products as the main commodities. There would be three commodities to develop, such as, potato, onion, and garlic.

“We are about to wait how the cultivation and the nursery so that everything could be harvested as it was planned,” SYL said.

“This is the first time in Indonesia that 215 hectares are planted by potato, garlic, and onion. From the data reported by Head of Research and Development Department, Ministry of Agriculture, it runs very well,” SYL noted.

In the same chance, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan told that the progress in food estate is significant. In the next four years, food estate in North Sumatera would be covering up t0 30 thousand hectares and would develop horticulture.

In 2020, the targets to develop food estate in Humbahas covers 1.000 hectares. It consists of 215 hectares provided by Budget in Ministry of Agriculture Indonesian Republic, while 785 hectares would be from the privates.

Pandjaitan also said that the food estate would be the role model to other regions and in the future whatever missing here in the cultivation, land process, harvest, and post-harvest would be improved in other regions.

“If this runs well, it is planned that Minister SYL would develop to be 1.000 hectares. The total would be 30.000 hectares. This is only the model. I think, we need to learn every deficiency from here to be improved in other regions,” Pandjaitan said.

He also mentioned that the government is searching for other high land to develop food estate, such as in Sulawesi or Java to welfare the villagers around.

“In Sulawesi there are some areas within 1.000-1.200 meters from the sea. We would do this or in Java there are some areas might be about 500 or 1.000 hectares and we would develop such this. It means that our horticulture would be finished in the next five years,” Pandjaitan mentioned.

Besides he also emphasized that food estate would not bother the forests. The commodities are planted in abandoned areas. The forests would remain good. Other hard plantations and macadamia bean would be developed so that the soil would not be erosion.

“There is no logging. We would develop the areas having no trees or let us say, bushes. The environment would remain good. We have potato, garlic here and the forests would remain good. Head of Research and Development Department would plant macadamia trees, coffee, and other hard trees though the slope is 15 degree. We would maintain not to be erosion,” he said. (A2)