PORTALJABAR, DISTRICT. GARUT - Acting Regent of Garut Barnas Adjidin participated in the implementation of the Great Corn Harvest in Pangeureunan Village, Garut Regency, Thursday (2/5/2024).

During the event, he inaugurated the Corn Post-Harvest Processing Unit in the form of a Vertical Dryer which was assistance from the central government.

Barnas said that this corn harvest is a moment of happiness for farmers, because they get abundant results, and have the potential to improve the community's economy. He also hopes that this Vertical Dryer can increase corn production in Pangeureunan Village.

"For example, now there is a vertical dryer, which previously we had to pay the person who installed it, now we don't, which previously had to be rolled up every time it rained and so on, now we don't see the weather anymore, automatically the time is very short, then income also increases because of what "There's no rotten corn, if it rains, that means it will be rejected (unproductive)," he said.

Barnas invites farmers to continue developing their knowledge, including by studying best practices from other corn centers. Apart from that, he encouraged farmers to pay attention to attractive packaging so that the selling value of corn can be increased, apart from maintaining its durability, it will also be more economical compared to manual ones.

"For example, this is for food, imagine if it wasn't packaged, it got rained on, it got wet, rotten, and then it got damp and hairy, right? But if it's stored in good packaging, it will last 6 months," he said.

Head of the Garut Regency Agricultural Service (Distan) Haeruman said that during 2023 the production of dry shelled corn produced by Garut Regency will reach almost 482,916 tons or contribute to more than 60% of corn production in West Java.

Several corn-producing sub-districts in Garut Regency are Limbangan, Malangbong, Banyuresmi, Karangpawitan, Cikelet, Caringin and Pakenjeng sub-districts.

He also explained that in 2023, his party, through various budget sources, had provided various program facilities and activities, both sourced from the regional revenue and expenditure budget (APBD), provincial, to the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) to support regional development. corn corporation, starting from seed aid facilities and hybrid corn product facilities covering an area of 9,497 hectares, providing 1 unit of vertical corn dyer with a capacity of 10 tons, to building infrastructure, one of which is a farming road.

This year, continued Haeruman, his party is trying to provide hybrid corn seed assistance facilities for an area of 15 thousand hectares, and for rice plants covering an area of 13 thousand hectares throughout Garut Regency.

"For the first stage, distribution has been carried out to farmer groups with an area of assistance reaching 2,605 hectares," he said.

Haeruman also said that this year his party is targeting to build 21,682 kilometers of farming roads, which are expected to be able to increase access to the mobilization of transporting production facilities to land areas, as well as production from plantations to collection centers.

Head of Limbangan District, Guriansyah Sukiran, said that of the 14 villages in Limbangan District, 9 villages contributed to corn production in Garut Regency.

Not only corn, several other commodities are superior in Limbangan District, such as rice, secondary crops, and turmeric which support agricultural programs.

Guriansyah revealed that Pangeureunan Village is really focused on corn farming, of the total 4 thousand hectares of corn plants in Limbangan, 1,200 hectares of which are in Pangeureunan Village.

"This is something that hopefully is in accordance with our shared wishes, that in particular food availability can be realized in Garut Regency," he said.