Indonesia to prepare 500,000 hectares for rice crops amid El Nino phenomenon

This is not the nation’s earliest significant agricultural endeavor. 770, 000 hectares, or more than 10 days Singapore’s size, are anticipated to be covered by an continued food estate project that began in 2020, according to Reuters. Rely on food imports is the goal of the project.

It is similar to the mid-1990s Mega Rice Project, which attempted to convert a million hectares of land in Central Kalimantan into grain fields but was unsuccessful due to unsuitable peatland. & nbsp,

Mr. Syahrul allegedly mapped the worst effects on grain investment in Indonesia during the height of El Nino from August to September of this year, according to Tempo. & nbsp,

According to Mr. Syahrul,” we have anticipated a gap in rice production of between 300,000 tonnes and 1, 200 000 tonnes.” & nbsp,

Nevertheless, he expressed optimism about limiting El Nino’s effects on national food stocks, particularly corn, given the extra 500,000 hectares for wheat production.

The value and investment of rice are now maintained, according to Tempo, citing the Agriculture Ministry. & nbsp,

According to Mr. Syahrul, the government will still have 2.7 million tonnes of wheat stock as of September 2023. & nbsp,

According to him, harvesting 800,000 acres of wheat fields each month will be enough to meet our demand for about 2, 000, 000 kilograms of grain. & nbsp,

Rice was chosen as a food reserve in response to severe weather threats because of its strong dominance, according to an Indonesian Political Economy Association ( AEPI ) food observer on Wednesday.

Mr. Khudori, who goes by one name, was cited by Kompas as saying,” Rice is a food whose participation rate is 100 %, from Sabang ( Aceh ) to Serui ( Papua ) depends on rice.” & nbsp,

According to state news agency Antara, Mr. Syahrul predicted that the increased manufacturing in the 500,000 hectares would result in clean cereal products of about 3 million tons, or roughly 1.5 million tonnes of corn. & nbsp,

However, Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan apparently stated on July 27 that the central government has allocated more than 8 trillion ringgit( US$ 526.8 million ) of public help to control rates in anticipation of food scarcity brought on by any El Nino-induced drought.

Different nations in the area, like Indonesia, are making an effort to deal with the El Nino weather pattern’s effects. & nbsp,

In Malaysia, farmers use methods like covering their crops with UV-resistant plastic sheets to lessen the effects of the soaring heating on crop yield. & nbsp,

In the upcoming months, countries in Southeast Asia are also preparing for a higher risk of intergovernmental cloud, which has almost become an annual occurrence in the area.

In light of the impending prolonged dry while brought on by El Nino, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who is also the agriculture secretary, presumably ordered all government agencies to employ water conservation measures in June.

In the meantime, the World Health Organization declared that it was getting ready for an increase in the spread of El Nino-related zoonotic diseases like dengue, Zika, and chikungunya.

According to Maria Neira, Director for Environment, Climate Change, and Health at WHO,” We can reasonably expect perhaps an increase in infectious diseases because of the temp.”