Agricom.id, JAKARTA - Head of Public Relation and Information, Ministry of Agriculture, Kuntoro Boga Andri told that Ministry of Agriculture would keep monitoring paddy crops in many regions in Indonesia. He thought that the potential paddy production which Central Bureau of Statistic (CBS) recently released would be the positive hope for the welfare of the farmers. The indication about the grain decreasing price becomes the data indicator of CBS and it is the field fact.

He predicted that there would be increasing milled dry grain (MDG) production about 5,37 million tons compared to the first quarter of 2020 which reached 19,99 million tons of MDG. If this happens, the production should be prioritized by the markets to absorb and the farmers’ hard work would be giving impact to their wealth.

“We do hope that Perum Badan Urusan Logistik (Bulog) and domestic markets would fully absorb the farmers’ production. We have to be proud that our country could prepare the food stocks by itself,” Kontoro said, as in the official statement to Agricom.id.

Besides the way to increase paddy production keeps running through food estate program that President Joko Widodo proposed. Kuntoro mentioned that Central Kalimantan and Central Sumba are in the planting process and heading to the crops.

“Hopefully the people would fully support our good will to prepare the food. We have the same goal to proudly contribute for the food in the pandemic,” he said.

In the previous, CBS released that in 2020 the paddy crops covered 10,66 million hectares within production about 54,65 million tons of MDG. If conversed to be rice, the production in 2020 reached 31,33 million tons.

The paddy production potential in January–April 2021 could be 25,37 million tons of MDG, or increase 5,37 million tons or 26,88 percent compared to it in the same period in 2020 reaching 19,99 million tons of MDG. (A2)