Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Minister of Agriculture Harvick Hasnul Qolbi made assurance that the subsidized fertilizer stock would suffice for immediate distribution before the start of the second planting season in the April-May period.
"I have checked the fertilizer stock. Alhamdulillah (thank God), I can see that the fertilizer stock is adequate," Qolbi noted in a statement here on Friday.
During his visit to state fertilizer producer PT Pupuk Kujang Cikampek on Thursday (March 25), Qolgi was optimistic of the company boosting its subsidized fertilizer stock that currently stood at 1.9 million tons during the planting season.
Meanwhile, Vice President Director of PT Pupuk Indonesia Nugroho Christijanto confirmed that the Pupuk Indonesia Group had allotted 1.9 million tons of subsidized fertilizer for the April-May planting season.
The amount is three folds higher than the government's minimum stock requirement. It comprises 1.1 million tons of urea, 367 thousand tons of NPK Phonska, 156 thousand tons of SP-36, 185 thousand tons of ZA, and 135 thousand tons of Petroganik.
"Of the total amount, the subsidized fertilizer stock for West Java has reached 153 thousand tons. It comprised 92.4 thousand tons of urea, 29.4 thousand tons of NPK Phonska, 15.1 thousand tons of SP-36, 8.6 thousand tons of ZA, and 7.8 thousand tons of Petroganik," Christijanto remarked.
Pupuk Indonesia, the holding company for state-run fertilizer firms, has nine packing plants, six distribution centers, 203 ships, six thousand trucks, 595 warehouses with a capacity of 3.1 million tons, and a network of 1,200 distributors, with 29 thousand kiosks.
"We ensure all facilities and the distribution network of the Pupuk Indonesia Group would run optimally to welcome this second planting season," he affirmed.
The state-run fertilizer company is mandated to distribute subsidized fertilizer as allocated by the government. In 2021, subsidized fertilizer allocation in accordance with Agriculture Minister Regulation No. 49 of 2020 was set at 9.04 million tons and 1.5 million liters of liquid organic fertilizer.
The company has also been tasked with providing non-subsidized fertilizer stock that currently reaches 754 thousand tons.
"This is aimed at meeting the farmers' demand that could not be covered by subsidized fertilizer," he added.
During the visit, the deputy agriculture minister launched the Agro Solution Program of Pupuk Indonesia Group, with the initial planting in Tempuran Sub-district, Karawang District, West Java.
The company initiated the Agro Solution Program last year to increase the farmers' productivity through the provision of non-subsidized agricultural input that covers fertilizers, seeds, and pesticides; access to capital; harvest off-take; and agriculture insurance.
PT Pupuk Kujang Cikampek, as a member of the holding company, has a 210-hectare of pilot project for the program in Tempuran Sub-district. The project has involved the Prima Agro cooperative unit, PT Bank BJB, PT Panca as the off-taker, PT Jasindo for agriculture insurance, and PT Pupuk Kujang Cikampek to supervise the farming technology.
"We are developing this scheme and involving many parties, and this year, we set the target to have 50 thousand hectares of agricultural land under the Agro Solution Program," he affirmed.
The trial on paddy planting in the districts of Jember, Banyuwangi, Bima, Dompu, Ponorogo, Magetan, and Madiun found that the Agro Solution Program can boost productivity by some 55 percent, from 6.28 tons to 9.73 tons per hectare.
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