Jakarta (ANTARA) – Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Lieutenant General Suharyanto affirmed that it will strengthen coordination and planning for disaster mitigation after 835 disasters struck until early April of 2023.”Until April 12, 2023, the number of disasters that occurred had reached 835 and was dominated by wet hydrometeorological disasters, such as floods, landslides, and extreme weather,” he said in a written statement received here, Friday.

Suharyanto made the statement during a working meeting with Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) in Jakarta on April 12.

One of the impacts of a disaster is the failure of farmers to harvest their plants in several areas. President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had directly urged the BNPB to make replacements for community rice fields that failed to harvest due to the flood disaster in the first quarter of 2023.

“The BNPB received an assignment from the president to replace the rice fields of farmers that failed to harvest due to floods. The reimbursement included production costs. We hope farmers can start to plant their rice fields next season,” Suharyantosaid.

He also affirmed that his side would only replace rice fields that failed to harvest due to the flood disaster.

“We will replace those that are affected by floods and not because of pests or other things,” he emphasized.

For now, the agency is preparing plans, conducting dissemination of information, and collecting data on farmers whose rice fields were damaged by floods in affected provinces.

During the meeting, Suharyanto and several high-ranking officials also discussed programs that had been implemented, including the achievements of budget absorption until early April 2023 and work plans to be conducted until the end of 2023.

He underscored that the BNPB is still the coordinator for the handling of COVID-19 and Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).

“Regarding the handling of COVID-19 and FMD, although the situation is relatively under control, the COVID-19 and FMD Task Force still exist and have been merged into one, with a duty period until the end of June 2023,” he noted.

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Source: Antara News Agency