Agricom.id, BARITO KUALA - Ministry of agriculture keeps supporting the superior technology innovation to anticipate the climate change in the swamps. The ministry would do anything to maintain the food security namely in the corona virus (Covid-19) pandemic.

One Balai Benih Induk (BBI) Padi Barabai in Village of Barambai Kolam Kanan, Sub district of Barambai, District of Barito Kuala, South Kalimantan has developed Inpara 2 for about 17 hectares (ha) which is good in the swamps.

Head of BBI Padi Barabai, Sugeng said that the major issue to plant paddy in the swamp is the high acidity that produces high Fe which make it easy to be in toxic. Besides, lots of water and in long duration in the swamp make the seed rotten and dead.

"Inpara is proved to be durable to the acidity, Fe toxic, and could grow in lots of water,” he said, Saturday (4/7/2020) as in the official info to Agricom.id.

"It is hoped that besides as the pilot project to paddy production in the swamp irrigation in South Kalimantan, the farmers would have the motivation to produce the paddy which is durable in the swamps,” he said.

Chairman of Produsen Benih (PB) Bunga Karang, Village of Karang Bunga, Sub district of Mandastana, District of Barito Kuala, Maryanto said that his side has been doing the paddy seed production in the swamps for about 160 hectares. The farmers appreciate him for producing the paddy seeds in the tidal swamps. The issues to face are the water, fertility and the acidity.

“That is why many people still plant paddy once a year within the local variety. But this does not stop me to adopt the technology to plant the good variety in the swamps which are mostly acid namely heading to the long dry season,” he said.

He also mentioned that the mainstay of Inpara 2 is the productivity reaching 8 tons/ha or equal to 6 tons/ha seeds. It is adaptive to the drought in the acid areas, tolerant to the Fe toxic, and Al, durable to the chocolate grasshopper, blast, and the taste of the rice is a little bit pera but the people of South Kalimantan love it.

“The seed which was once planted now could be planted twice a year. Many farmers plant Inpara 2 in District of Barito Kuala," he said.

"The seed production in one season could be 960 tons. Besides fulfilling the seed needs in this province, the Central Kalimantan proposed to get the seeds too,” he said.

In the other place, General Director of Food Plantation, Ministry of Agriculture, Suwandi said that the swamp optimization is the strategy that his side would do to secure the food stock nationally in the dry season namely in the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. This is the same with what Minister of Agriculture told to guarantee the food production, namely rice.

“Seeds are the factors to succeed the cultivation. The planting of varieties which are adjustable with the nature would increase the production. We do hope that it needs to empower the producer farmers independently to ease the access in getting the superior seeds,” he said.

Director of Food Plantation Seed, Ministry of Agriculture, Takdir Mulyadi also said that Inpara has been developing in the swamps, such as, South Sumatera, South Kalimantan, and other regions having swamps. Those which are adaptive and tolerant to much water in the swamps, durable to the drought are Inpara 1, Inpara 2, and Inpara 3.

"The others are Inpara 4, Inpara 5, Inpara 6, Inpara 7, Inpara 8, Inpara 9 Agritan, Inpara 10 BLB," he said. (A2)