PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - The harvest season starts at the end of April to the beginning of May 2024. The next planting season will be held in June.

However, based on BMKG forecasts, after May, rainfall will continue to decline, so there are concerns that there will be a drought and the potential for crop failure.

The Ministry of Agriculture has anticipated this by maximizing production of rainfed rice fields or upland rice through pumping activities.

In the Coordination Meeting for Food Security and Agricultural Productivity in West Java at Gedung Sate, Bandung City, Thursday (18/4/2024), it was announced that the Ministry of Agriculture had allocated 2,500 points of pumping assistance to accelerate the expansion of rainfed rice cultivation in West Java.

In the meeting, Acting Governor of West Java Bey Machmudin conveyed the need to increase production of rain-fed rice fields to achieve the grain production target of more than 11 million tons this year.

"There needs to be an instrument to maintain water availability, including pumping. However, the recipients of pumping must be clear and on target, so I ask the district/city government to map the land and its location," said Bey.

Apart from that, according to Bey, coordination is needed with the TNI/Polri to maintain the pumping program. If necessary, each pumping device has a GPS embedded in it or uses digital monitoring.

"Also maximize West Java warehouse and distribution center receipts as an instrument for controlling food stocks and prices," he stressed.

Inspectorate General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Komjen Setio Budi, said that the TNI and the ministry had worked together for the pumping program, including for the West Java region which received 2,500 points.

A total of 201,702.6 hectares of rainfed rice fields and several irrigated rice fields will be the target of pumping according to priority, so he asked the West Java Provincial Government to immediately submit a map of the location and land of which farmers are entitled to pumping.

"I hope there will be acceleration in West Java because until April 15 2024 , of the total area of rainfed rice fields, only 5,630 hectares have started to accelerate planting, the number is still very small," explained Setio Budi.

West Java Provincial Secretary Herman Suryatman asked the Regent/Mayor in West Java to immediately follow up on the needs of the Ministry of Agriculture, especially regarding maps of land receiving pumping assistance.

"Only 1,300 points have been realized for 13,000 hectares of land. The Ministry of Agriculture is even ready if West Java increases the need for pumping to 5,000 points," he stressed.

The Acting Regent of West Bandung, Arsan Latif, who was present at the coordination meeting, requested 44 pumping points for rainfed land areas in his area. Apart from that, Arsan hopes that there will be repairs to the rice field irrigation channels because many of them are damaged.

The Acting Regent of Sumedang, Tuti Ruswati, conveyed the same thing. His party, through the Special Allocation Fund (DAK), has carried out pumping on 200 ha of rice fields, but still requires additional pumping programs from the Ministry of Agriculture.

"We are also asking for help from the West Java Provincial Government to repair the Cariang Dam in Ujung Jaya District, which is starting to deteriorate. This dam is very vital for watering irrigation canals in Sumedang," said Tuti.