Agricom.id, PATI – Known by the slogan Bumi Mina Tani, District of Pati in the northern side of Java is one big onion producer in Central Java after District of Brebes and Demak. In April , there would be 549 hectares (ha) of onion planting to harvest. The areas could support the onion supply nationally namely heading to the fasting days and lebaran. Though Pati is claimed as one red zone of pandemic (corona virus/Covid-19), the onion farmers still do farming in their areas.

“We ourselves witnessed that they persistently work in their areas. As if they are not worried about Covid-19 which haunts many people. They should follow the health protocol. This is our appreciation,” General Director of Horticulture, Ministry of Agriculture, Prihasto Setyanto said when seeing the stocks of onion in the food security vigilance nationally during the pandemic of Covid-19, in Sub district of Wedarijaksa, District of Pati, Central Java, (24/4/2020) as in the official statement to Agricom.id.

“We saw it in person not to make image or the kind. But this is the mandate of the President Joko Widodo to maintain the food security. This sector should not stop no matter what is ahead. Why? Because the agriculture deals with 267 million citizens of Indonesia and we should be serious,” he said when meeting the onion farmers.

He did visit three locations, such as, Village of Ngurensiti and Bangsalrejo in the Sub district of Wedarijeksa, and Village of Tegal Arum, Sub district of Jaken, District of Pati where he grew for 20 years there.

“From our direct monitoring, the onion layout here is extraordinary. In the Sub district of Jaken, the onion could be planted 4 to five times in a year. It convinces us that the stocks heading to lebaran would be in good condition,” he said optimistically.

He also told that the government would always be there – near the farmers to anticipate the price fluctuation in the field, know the progress, and immediately do early anticipation.

“If something is expensive to unusual price, the production result would be transferred from the surplus regions to the minus ones by funding the delivery costs. If something is cheap, the farmers are advised to postpone the selling by keeping the production in the cooling warehouses until it gets better (more expensive),” he said.

He also mentioned that the regional government namely the plantation agency is as the front liner to manage while the central government would prepare the fund.

Meanwhile Director in duty of Vegetables and Medicine Plantation, Sukarman said that his side is optimist that the stocks of onion heading and after lebaran would be in good condition.

“We have directly done field check. We saw Brebes and Demak too. It is vast and could be seen when passing through the high way and it is too in Pati. The other centers based on the prediction of Early Warning System (EWS) which we made, showed the positive ttrend. The stocks in the fasting days and after lebaran, Insya Allah would be good. We would monitor the price later,” he said.

One onion farmer of Village of Ngurensiti, Sub district of Wedarijeksa, Pahdi was glad for it is sold about Rp 30.000/kg in the farmers’ level. He claimed that he could get Rp 20 million from one overlay (equal to 1.400 m2).

“It is good now, Sir. I have to overlay and get profits,” he said with a smile when harvesting his areas.

He also hoped that the price could be stable knowing that they got cheaper selling price, only Rp 10 thousand per kilogram in the early January 2020.

Sub district of Wedarijeksa has 393 hectares of onion to harvest. They are in Village of Ngurensiti about 135 ha; in Village of Bangsalrejo about 71 hectares. The unique is that the villagers of Bangsalrejo planted in the same time and it is now 36 days old.

“We are about to harvest in 25 days to the lebaran stocks. We could harvest 13,5 tons per hectare in average,” the counselor coordinator in Sub district of Wedarijeksa, Ahmad Munjamil said.

In Sub district of Jaken, there are 200 ha of onion to harvest.

“We could plant onion in every year. The farmers here really pay attention to the environmental cultivation. For example, by putting likat kuning and bug trap in simple ways,” Ngarjo, the officer of organism disturbing control in Sub district of Jaken said. “We use plastic mika and rat trap. It is effective to prevent the attacks for about 25 days. ours are good. We are ready to supply the needs in fasting days and lebaran,” he convinced. (A2)