Agricom.id, LAMPUNG – As the location next to the red zone, Lampung is one region which strictly monitors the spread of corona virus (Covid-19) spread. This influenced the economy of the people, namely the housing food security because of the limited distance scale in some locations.

Ministry of Agriculture through Badan Ketahanan Pangan noticed that this is the potential to socialize ‘advantaging the house yard’ which has been running, that is, Pekarangan Pangan Lestari (P2L).

P2L is one activity to empower the groups in the society to advantage the house yard as the food producers mobilized by ministry of agriculture.

Head of Badan Ketahanan Pangan, Agung Hendriadi said that the house yard could be the source of food for the family in the pandemic. “From the house yard we could plant eggplant, tomato, mustard greens, and others and harvest them. Do not worry about it for we would help,” he said in the visit to Lampung, Saturday (3/7/2020) as in the official info to Agricom.id.

P2L is about to empower the people to cultivate their yard independently to be the source of food. There are four concepts of the activity, they are, the place to seed, demonstration plot, the planting in the yard; post-harvest and marketing.

Jaeni, Chairman of P2L KWT Mekar Sari, Village of Rama Indra, Sub district of Seputih Raman, District of Central Lampung said that the activity in P2L would not be only the source of food in the family but also it could save the expense of other members. “We do not need to buy (food). We just pick (what we need) from the demonstration plot,” he said.

KWT Wijaya Kusuma, Village of Rukti Harjo, Sub district of Seputih Raman, District of Central Lampung got the same benefits. “We have harvested some commodities from the demonstration plot. Alhamdulillah, many people bought. We sold kale, pakcoy, and spinach," the Secretary of P2L KWT Wijaya Kusuma, Atun said.

Head of Village of Rukti Harjo, Gunawan thanked Badan Ketahanan Pangan. He mentioned that in the P2L, the people are enthusiastic to imitate the activity. “The places of seed and demonstration plot are the samples for the people to plant vegetables in their house yards,” he said,

Back to Agung, he said that to empower the groups in the society, the helps in P2L are divided into two phases, they are, the growing in the first year, and the development in the second year.

“In the second year, the groups would be in the development phase. The group could develop the areas. The place to seed should be developed so that it would not be dead. If the seeds are planted, they could take and plant the new seeds from the result of seedbed,” Agung said.

He also mentioned that P2L would help the people who are hit by Covid-19 to be productive. “I hope, this would help the people, namely the members and the people around to fulfill their food in their family and could get additional income,” he said.

It is hoped too that P2L could encourage the groups to get income more independent and sustainable, and could be the inspiration for other to advantage their house yeards to realize the healthy, active, productive human resources. (A2)