Agricom.id, LUMAJANG – The climate change would influence the agriculture. The increasing temperature, the change of rain drops and pattern, the moisture and water in the soil, and the increasing frequency of extreme climate would be massively risky to the productivity and the quality of the agricultural sectors, including the plantations.

Knowing these, Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL) encouraged the officers in ministry of agriculture to be active and ready to implement the technology. This is about to do adaptation, anticipation, mitigation of the season in 2020 so that the commodity and productivity would remain stable and be well maintained.

Head of Balai Besar Perbenihan dan Proteksi Tanaman Perkebunan (BBPPTP) Surabaya, Kresno Suharto said that facing the climate change, General Directorate of Plantation, Ministry of Agriculture published the policy to implement the conservation agricultural system. “It is implemented in the plantations, including in the critical areas, peat, the upstream areas of river and in the buffer zone based on the water and area conservation principles,” he said, as in the official statement to Agricom.id.

He also mentioned that in facing the climate change, his side has done many things, such as, implementing the environmental technology package, increasing the organic usage, natural pesticides, agents, natural control, and environmental waste process technology from the plantations. His side also did campaigns about the plantations which contribute to the carbon absorption, oxygen providers, increasing the hydrologic roles and function, the implementation of zero fire to new planting, rehabilitating the plantations, adjusting the protection plantation needs for the certain commodities which need and implement good agricultural practices (GAP).

Since March 2020, the conservation agricultural system has been implemented in some regions. In District of Lumajang, precisely in Village of Tamanau, Sub district of Pronojiwo, the conservation agricultural application runs since August done by Kelompok Tani Langgeng Tani II. When he visited the region to see the execution (27/8/2020), Kresno Suharto told that it started from the socialization to the plantation stakeholders. The people need to understand that it is important to anticipate the climate change. “Plantation development needs sustainability and the productivity would remain stable. It could minimize the loss of harvest because of the impacts of climate change,” he said.

To support the conservation, the government gave helps to the groups of plantation, such as, making the animals’ cages, the compost house, water reservoir, and technical development about coffee planting and post-harvest management.

In the same chance, Director of Plantation Protection, General Directorate of Plantation, Ministry of Agriculture, Ardi Praptono did appreciate the groups which run the activity well. “I do believe that the group is ready heading the climate change. It could anticipate the fail harvest and the productivity would remain stable,” he said.

Ministry of Agriculture through General Directorate of Plantation, he continued, gave helps to Kelompok Tani Langgeng Tani II, such as, 25 animals the cages, the compost house, water reservoir, tools and organic fertilizer tools.

The Secretary of Kelompok Tani Langgeng Tani II, Mustofa said that by the helps, his groups is more active to cultivate the coffee plantations and could increase their income. “The groups would breed the animals well given by General Directorate of Plantation, Ministry of Agriculture. This would increase the cash in the group. Besides the feces of the animals would be used to fertilizer needs to grow the coffee,” he said.

He also said that his side would advantage the water reservoir to breed fish to fulfill the people’s needs. (A2)