By : Marcellino Angel Krey )*
The government is promoting food security in Papua and is fully committed so that the people of Cendrawasih do not starve. The community appreciates this program and they are grateful because President Jokowi is very concerned about the people of Papua. With strong food security, food prices can also be reduced because crops are grown in Papua and do not need to be imported from other islands.
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.
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.
President Jokowi inspects the Food Estate corn development site in Mannem District, Keerom Regency, Papua. On that occasion, he reviewed the corn harvest he planted during his visit last March. The harvest location is in zone 9 with a corn field area of 39 ha. Launching the PUPR Ministry’s Instagram account, the yield reached 7 tons per hectare.
President Jokowi stated that in the harvest was corn that was planted 3 months ago, 107 days ago to be exact. The results are quite satisfactory.
This harvest cannot be separated from the support of the Ministry of PUPR for the development of the Keerom Food Estate. The PUPR Ministry provides support for infrastructure development.
President Jokowi continued, the Keroom food estate project, in Papua Province, should not be covered up. According to him, whatever the realization of the harvest that occurred must be shown to the public. He also gave notes on what needed to be fixed.
In a sense, the government is very concerned about the people of Papua and is trying to increase food security by creating a food estate in Keerom. With the food estate, corn and various other foodstuffs will be planted, so that the people of Papua can be self-sufficient. They won’t have any trouble because they have to bring in crops from other islands, which are more expensive.
Meanwhile, 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.
The government is also aggressively making new rice fields opened outside Java Island, especially Papua. Java is already too densely populated, so another place is to be found. To plant rice, it is adjusted to the type of soil and superior quality seeds are selected, so that the results are abundant and satisfying.
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. There is also a food estate in Keerom which is harvesting corn. 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.
)* The author is a Papuan student living in Kalimantan
