Kupastuntas.co, Lampung English - The Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo said, Lampung Province is part of the six provinces which are national food buffers to anticipate the threat of drought as a result of El Nino.

The other five provinces are West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Sumatra and South Sulawesi. Minister of Agriculture ask

Lampung Province can maintain food supply, especially rice so that it can contribute to meeting national food needs.

"My presence in Lampung is to carry out a national movement against El Nino according to the President's orders. There are six main provinces that become food buffers during El Nino, one of which is Lampung. The other provinces are West Java, Central Java, East Java, South Sumatra and South Sulawesi," said Syahrul Yasin Limpo while attending a coordination meeting to anticipate the impact of El Nino for Lampung Province in Nuwo Balak Gunung Sugih, Central Lampung, Wednesday 2 August 2023.

Syahrul reminded that to deal with El Nino, all parties must coordinate and cooperate, starting from the local government to the central government.

"Lampung is a food buffer area directly to Java Island, so it must participate and contribute to supporting national interests," said Syahrul.

The Minister of Agriculture explained, the Ministry of Agriculture has offered several schemes to the provincial and district administrations to carry out intensification of agricultural land.

Syahrul offers an area of agricultural land intensification in Lampung Province ranging from 30 thousand hectares to 100 thousand hectares.

"So if the governor or regent wants to, that's okay, if possible, just a few regencies to focus more on work. But for us, intensifying agricultural land of 30,000 hectares is enough for Lampung," said the Minister of Agriculture.

The Minister of Agriculture confirmed that currently national food security is still safe and there are no obstacles. Even this August there is still a rice harvest of 850 thousand hectares.

Even so, continued Syahrul, the central government is still making various preparations including funding from the state budget, regional budget, banks and third parties.

"We shouldn't be overconfident, we are still preparing for food needs. In the implementation, I think the service heads can coordinate," he explained.

Meanwhile, Assistant for Economy and Development for Lampung Province, Kusnardi, who was present at the event, said rice production in Lampung is currently approximately 3.2 million tonnes per year.

"Of course this can support food needs in Java apart from in other provinces. We have also anticipated the impact of El Nino so that prices do not increase too significantly," he said.

Kusnardi said the province had coordinated with the district so that irrigation channels for agriculture were not blocked.

"Like in Central Lampung, there are several sub-districts that we keep an eye on. Because this area is one of the biggest rice producers in Lampung," he added. (*)

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