Agricom.id, KARAWANG - Ministry of agriculture keeps providing the food to fulfill the people’s needs which keep increasing, namely in the fasting days. The policies to run are, such as, no day without planting and harvesting; increasing the productivity and provitas, accelerating the planting, and multiply the width to plant.

Balai Besar Peramalan Organisme Pengganggu Tumbuhan (BBPOPT) is pro-active about the policies published by Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo by giving the accurate information about the prediction and the plantation disturbing organism (PDO) in the field; providing the technical helps/development to the farmers and control the PDO in the field. BBPOPT also really contributes to empower the 12 hectare - rice garden to plant paddy and it was in harvest.

“We are grateful that in the pandemic of corona virus (Covid-19) and the spread of PDO attacks, namely the rats and insects which cut off the paddy stalks, the developed groups in Karawang and around still do massive harvest. What Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo and General Director of Food Plantation, Suwandi told is the food production should be kept and be increasing,” Head of BBPOPT, Enie Tauruslina said in Karawang, Friday (24/4/2020) as in the official statement to Agricom.id.

She also mentioned that her side was harvesting the rice garden of BBPOPT about 1,35 hectares (ha) of 12 ha in total. The rests (10,65 ha) would be too in this very short.

“The grain is good now, about Rp 4.900 per kilogram of the wet,” she said.

She also mentioned that the paddy variety planted in the project areas is Inpari 32 which is durable to the pest attack within the high production. Many farmers got the high productivity for planting this paddy and it is tasty.

“Alhamdulillah many farmers planted Inpari 32 because of its mainstay, such as, durable to the pest attack, having high production, it is tasty and many bought it,” she said.

Besides harvesting, in the same time BBPOPT did the social activity, “Bantuan Kementerian Pertanian Peduli Covid 19”  and it was directly inaugurated by Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo through video conference which was joined by Agriculture Agency, Balai Pengkajian Teknologi Pertanian (BPTP), Unit Pelaksana Teknis Dinas, and other institutions.

"General Director of Food Plantation, Suwandi as the representative (of ministry of agriculture) trusted on BBPOPT to hand over the helps to the people, free-lancers ,and the labors,” she said.

Before giving the helps symbolically, she told the mandate and hoped that the helps could enlighten the people who may get bet impact from the Covid-19. The helps were rice, egg, sugar, and cooking oil.

One who got the helps, Agus was grateful for the help and thanked ministry of agriculture for the concern to the people who never expected to get the helps.

“We do hope, this could be the way to have good relationship between the people and BBPOPT," he said.

In his speech, Minister Syahrul told that in the pandemic globally, the big family of ministry of agriculture should keep the health well and be discipline to implement the healthy life style, do workout, and eat healthy food.

“We have to consume herbal plantation to keep our stamina good, such as, ginger, turmeric, betel, honey, and others,” the Commandant said, the famous nick name of Syahrul. (A2)