By : Charles Tabuni )*
The government continues to maintain food supply and price stability, so that the stock is secure. Food security must be prioritized in all regions of Indonesia, including in Papua. One way to improve food security is to build irrigation so that the harvest is always successful. The community is grateful to the government because development in Papua continues, and there are no fears of a food crisis.
Indonesia used to be known as an agricultural country and even though it is now the era of information technology, the agricultural sector has not been forgotten. Agrarian remains important because the government wants to be independent. The agricultural sector is still prioritized because it supports food security throughout Indonesia, including in Papua.
Acting Head of the West Papua PUPR Service, Yohanis Momot, stated that the government will build a dam in Sorong measuring 200×300 meters. The existence of this dam is not only to prevent flooding but also to irrigate plantations so that it has a positive impact on food security.
Yohanis continued, infrastructure development in the economic sector focuses on the agricultural sector, namely the construction of physical facilities to face the food and economic crisis in 2023. The development includes rice field irrigation canals in several agricultural areas including Sorong City, Bintuni Regency and Manokwari Regency.
In a sense, the government is not only building roads as infrastructure in Papua. However, the construction of dams is also important to support food security in Cendrawasih Earth.
Likewise with the construction of irrigation canals, it is very important to support agriculture in Papua. With irrigation, farmers will not have any difficulties during the dry season because the irrigation is sufficient, so that the harvest is always successful.
The food security of the Papuan people is very important because it is very far from Java and other rice-producing areas. Although the people’s staple foods are sweet potatoes and sago, but now they have shifted to rice. The large number of residents who are immigrants has also changed the habits of the people in Bumi Cendrawasih so that they also enjoy rice as their daily meal.
Currently there are rice fields in South Manokwari and Sorong. However, the government is somewhat worried about the supply of grain, because it greatly affects the people’s food security. Therefore, to support rice fields, dams and irrigation canals were built.
To support food security, the government is targeting 6 to 7 tons of rice in the main harvest in Papua. Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo stated that in order to achieve the target, 1,000 hectares of rice fields will be built in Papua.
With rice fields and irrigation, the government is optimistic that the rice harvest will always be successful thereby increasing food security in Papua. People do not have to buy rice from other islands, where the waiting period is long and the price is more expensive. However, they can be self-sufficient in rice and other agricultural products.
Meanwhile, the government created a millennial farmer program which is under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture. With this program, there is regeneration so that many young farmers emerge, who are not only good at farming but also entrepreneurship to market their crops. Papuan youths are encouraged to follow millennial farmers so they can become big successful farmers.
Maulana Wiga, Ambassador of Millennial Farmers stated that during the pandemic many sectors collapsed. However, in the agricultural sector it is stable, even the millennial farmer program can maintain national food security. The proof is the increase in commodity exports by 15.9% last year. In a sense, what can be exported is because there is a surplus from agricultural products so that food supplies in Indonesia are secure.
Millennial farmers are a new breakthrough because young people are trained to work in the fields. They are regenerating because people cannot just rely on lots of old farmers. Millennial farmers are stronger and enthusiastic about working, and motivated to move forward.
The Ministry of Agriculture opens vacancies for millennial farmers throughout Indonesia, including in Papua, with the aim of not only regenerating farmers but also training them to become entrepreneurs in the agrarian sector, with various workshops and teaching marketing techniques. That way, it will break the saying that farmers cannot be rich.
If millennial farmers are good at online marketing, they will not depend on middlemen, because they can market their own agricultural products. They will prosper because they are not dependent on the ijon or middlemen. In addition, millennial farmers are also equipped with knowledge so they can predict shifts in seasons, so that the harvest is guaranteed to be successful. By becoming millennial farmers, Papuan youths will always maintain food security.
The government is carrying out massive construction in Papua, not only for highways and connecting roads between regions, but also for the construction of irrigation and dams. This is done so that food security in Cendrawasih Earth is always maintained. The Papuan people will not be afraid of starvation because they are already self-sufficient in rice and other agricultural products.
)* Papuan students live in Jakarta
