PALMOILMAGAZINE, SIAK – The Ministry of Agriculture continues to strengthen efforts to boost food production by leveraging the areas where the smallholders replanting program (SRP) is underway. The most recent initiative took place in the Kelompok Tani Jaya Sakti in the Village of Sialang Sakti, Subdistrict of Dayun, Siak Regency, Riau Province, where paddy gogo was planted.
The General Directorate of Plantations, responsible for the cultivation of plantation areas, allocated land and facilitated the cultivation of paddy gogo intercrops as part of the expansion of paddy fields. This action was carried out in line with the directive of the Minister of Agriculture, Andi Amran Sulaiman, to support the optimization of peat areas, the development of rainfed areas, and the implementation of paddy gogo intercropping in 2024.
Director of Palm Oil Plant and Various Palm, Ardi Praptono said that Riau has paddy gogo field about 32.614 hectares, and Regency of Siak contributed about 3.569 hectares. “The planting is hoped to support plantation area optimization to escalate food production, namely paddy gogo,” he said, as Palmoilmagazine.com quoted from the official page of Ministry of Agriculture, Monday (18/3/2024).
Ardi Praptono also mentioned the smallholders that conducted SRP usually plant intercrops, such as, watermelon or corn. “But this time they plant paddy gogo and they prepared about 8 hectares, the other members’ plantations that did SRP, laid about 67,7 hectares, should also participate to plant paddy gogo,” Ardi said.
Chairman of the group, Teguh hoped that the paddy gogo planting would deliver better economy for the smallholders besides other intercrops they planted. In the planting, the smallholders got helps in paddy gogo seeds and other infrastructures, such as, pesticides, fertilizers to escalate the plantation productivity.
Ardi encouraged the groups to get seeds and infrastructure proposals from the (regional) government to accelerate the planting. They are committed to optimize unproductive palm oil plantations yet by planting intercrops. (T2)
