Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto affirmed that the development of food estates in several areas aimed at strengthening sovereign and independent national food security.
The minister made the statement during a meeting with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). The waterways and land management at the food estate in Central Kalimantan were being developed by the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing to be later used by the Ministry of Agriculture.
“The progress (in development) of the food estate in Central Kalimantan by the Ministry of Agriculture reaches around 60 thousand hectares, of which 30 thousand hectares (had been developed) in 2020, 14 thousand hectares in 2021, and 16 thousand hectares of extensification,” Hartarto noted in an official statement received here, Wednesday.
Speaking in connection with the development of food estates in North Sumatra, Hartarto noted that seven hectares out of the targeted 22 hectares will be further developed by the Humbahas District head as the person in charge, with intervention from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Meanwhile, the food estate in Belu District, East Nusa Tenggara, covering an area of 559 hectares, will be developed for corn commodities, as well as the food area in East Sumba District, spanning one thousand hectares of land, will be used as land for sorghum cultivation.
Furthermore, some 10 thousand hectares of food estate in Central Sumba District will be supported by the government in the form of water and fertilizer availability, Hartarto stated.
“For food estates in Papua, we will open new land in Merauke and Keerom. We will use one million hectares of land in Merauke and three thousand hectares in Keerom,” he added.
Hartarto also noted that President Jokowi had provided directions regarding the regulation of the Strategic Logistics Reserve Agency to be integrated with the Presidential Regulation regarding increasing national food supply through the development of food estate areas. The Strategic Logistics Reserve Agency will later be led by the minister of defense.
Source: Antara News