To commemorate world food day, Jokowi asks farmers to optimize swamp lands

News24xx.com - In the commemoration of the 28th World Food Day (HPS) in 2018 which falls on October 16, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will launch a program to optimize swamp land for increasing national food production.

The plan, Jokowi will be present in the region of South Kalimantan on October 18-20. "Through this program, the community will be more prosperous because of the increase in income. For the regions to be implemented, this program is in the South Kalimantan region, because the region is rich in swamps" Agriculture Minister, Amran Sulaiman said on Sunday, October 14th 2018, which was quoted by Republika.co.id.

He explained that suboptimal land such as swamps have not been utilized optimally. While agriculture is currently in increasing national food production still relies on irrigated rice fields.

Therefore Arman assigned his staff to make a breakthrough program instrument that can optimize the function of swamps as agricultural land. The instrument includes policy, research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Arman also said that swamps that would be converted into agricultural areas were prioritized on swamp land overgrown with shrubs which were ecologically suitable for agricultural cultivation.

According to the study of the Ministry of Agriculture's Center for Agricultural Land Resources (BBSDLP), around 7.9 million hectares have the potential to be used as agricultural land.

Another priority is to revitalize bokor swamp which reaches two million hectares. Bokor Swamp is swamp land that has been opened, but has not been cultivated.

This abandoned land can be reactivated by improving the water system, both macro and micro. The cost allocation is not as big as compared to opening new swamps.

For the area to be visited later is in the village of Jejangkit Muara, Jejangkit District, Barito Kuala Regency, South Kalimantan, whose total area is 750 hectares.

 

 

 

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