Agricom.id, JAKARTA – General Director of Agricultural Infrastructure Ministry of Agriculture, Sarwo Edhy told that food estate would support the food security nationally. Ministry of Agriculture would encourage to area intensification in the location of food estate to escalate the ability of soil in the swamp by developing the infrastructures.

“The swamp lays about 34 million hectares. Based on the researches, about 17 million hectares could be planted productively. This would be in phase to optimize the swamp to increase the production,” he said in the webinar of Forum Wartawan Pertanian (Forwatan) about “Food Estate Dukung Ketahanan Pangan” in Jakarta, Thursday (18/3/2021). The discussion was held in cooperation between General Directorate of Agricultural Infrastructures and Croplife Indonesia.

He also mentioned that Ministry of Agriculture supports food estate through socialization and technology to the farmers to plant certified seeds. As the outcome, the productivity of food estate in Central Kalimantan increased, from 2-3 tons per hectare to be 5 tons per hectare.

“Food estate is about to support food security and the swamp is the future for Indonesia,” he said in that webinar that Agricom.id joined

He also mentioned that the government keeps trying to increase the productivity in the swamp of food estate through technology by giving tools to plant and harvest that the farmers could use. It is hope that the farmers could cultivate and plant faster and in crops faster to plant again.

In 2021, Ministry of Agriculture tries to optimize the swamp in Central Kalimantan covering 30 thousand hectares. “Hopefully the food estate areas could develop and in Nusa Tenggara Timur too to fulfill the food needs for 270 million men,” he said.

In 2019 the government optimized the swamp in five provinces, such as, South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi, South Sumatera, Jambi, and Lampung. The swamp covered about 366 thousand hectares to plant paddy.

Senior Advisor Croplife Indonesia, Midzon Johannis told that his side supports food estate development. Within the world population about 2,5 billion in 1950, to be 7 billion in 2011, and could be 9 billion in 2050, the food consumption could be increasing 23 percent while the agricultural areas just get wider 9 percent.

Croplife Indonesia supports to develop new technology to protect the plants, biology, biotechnology, digital and smart agriculture as same as the condition in Indonesia.

The company also supports the infrastructures, such as, the plant and seed protection products, development to the farmers through learning centers, agriculture expo, agronomy training, and stewardship.

“We would prepare the technology to guarantee the infrastructure, such as, seed and plants protection products,” he said.

Head of Departemen Ilmu Ekonomi – FEM, Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Sahara said that mechanism and modernization of agriculture/digitalization are the important elements to be confirmed both on farm and off-farm to develop food estate.

“The utilization of tools and machines when cultivating the areas would increase the production,” he said. The outcome management is needed to rice milling unit which is the central of paddy agroindustry.

Head of Sub Directorate of Area Optimization and Rehabilitation General Directorate of Agricultural Infrastructure Ministry of Agriculture, Foyya Yusufu Aquino said that one sample in technology implementation is that the government made center of excellence in District of Kapuas covering 1.000 hectares and in District of Pulang Pisau covering 1.000 hectares. (A2)