Pelaihari, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Tanah Laut Regent H Sukamta declared, the Selamatkan Rawa Sejahterakan Petani or to save swampland to Welfare Farmers(Serasi) Program in the Tanah Laut District in 2020 was a success, one example Sarikandi Village produced 6,186 tons of rice per hectare.
"Alhamdulillah all succeeded in planting, nothing has failed, for example in Sarikandi Village the productivity is 6 tons per hectare,” Sukamta remarked in an informal meeting called Manunggal Tuntung Pandang in Sarikandi Village, Kurau Sub-district, Friday (March 13, 2020).
According to him, in the Sumber Makmur Village, an area of 320 hectares, which used to be unproductive cannot used for anything, could now be planted with rice and has a productivity of two to three tons per hectare.
“This is an extraordinary success," he said.
Related news: S Kalimantan succeeds in agriculture's Serasi program
Sukamta pointed out that the Serasi program was a concrete manifestation of the government's desire to improve the welfare of farmers.
The program here is supported by Tanah Laut government through the Food Crops, Horticulture, and Plantation Agency by providing agriculture machinery tools, such as combine harvester, for farmers to make harvesting process faster and they can plant twice a year.
"Of course we support with sophisticated agricultural machinery so that farmers can plant twice a year. The first planting with Serasi, and the second when water starts to be high by planting local rice plant. Thus our farmers are more productive and more prosperous, because the rice produced by two times the amount," Sukamta said.
He explained that the government is committed to keeping the price of unhusked rice stable. At present, it is Rp5 thousand per kilogram. With this price farmers in Tanah Laut can get a large profit.
The regent also said that in the district there are 17.000 hectares of land in the Serasi program, all of which were successfully realized.
At the Manunggal Tuntung Pandang (MTP) in Srikandi Village, the regent took part in the harvest by using combine harvester machine on the Serasi land.
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