Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan (ANTARA) - Nine groups in the city of Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, take part in the 2021 Pekarangan Pangan Lestari (P2L) or a home garden program of the Ministry of Agriculture's Food Security Agency.
Acting Head of the Banjarmasin Food Security, Agriculture, and Fishery Office M Makhmud here on Tuesday said that five groups of the P2L received assistance from the provincial government and four groups assisted by the central government.
"Each group is assisted from technical to capital," he said.
The assistance is aimed to develop the vegetable sector of agriculture by utilizing the yard of the house (home garden). "One group is assisted up to IDR70 million," he said.
one group is consisted up to 30 people. They work together to develop vegetable farming for family food security.
"Among them are developing mustard, tomato, eggplant, and chili plants," he said.
Technically, Makhmud said, his office provides guidance from nursery to maintenance to produce good yields.
"But they do the work themselves, starting from preparing land, nurseries, and others," said Makhmud.
Read also: Banjarmasin selects five youth as pioneers
Read also: S Kalimantan re-opens Sultan Adam Public Forest Park
As an urban area that is densely populated with very limited land for this program, he said, green open land was then used for the initial development of nurseries.
"Then 70 polybags are distributed to each member to be developed individually," he said.
"So far we are monitoring, this has been going well for a month, every group is excited," he said.
The program is not merely intended to help members to produce food for their own family, but it is expected to increase the family's economy.
"Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone must be creative to take opportunities to be able to improve family's economy," he said.
Read also: Tabalong's 10 durians obtain variety protection
Read also: PT Arutmin's fostered farmers harvests 13 tons watermelon
