Banjarmasin to maintain rice fields for food security

Banjarmasin, S Kalimantan (Antaranews Kalsel) - Banjarmasin City Government is determined to maintain an area of 1887 hectares of agricultural land that is still available for the food needs of local residents.


Banjarmasin Mayor Ibnu Sina stated this during a dialogue with a group of farmers in Tatah Belayung Village, South Banjarmasin Subdistrict, Saturday, before the rice harvest here.

According to Ibnu Sina, it is undeniable that not a few of the agricultural land that was so widely seized by urban development, especially for settlements.

As an example, the Tatah Belayung village area for a few years had very few settlements, the rest was a vast expanse of rice fields. But now the housing complex has mushroomed to take up not a few rice fields.

To prohibit the conversion of paddy fields, it is relatively difficult for the government, because the owner is the community.

Therefore the government will try to allocate funds to buy rice fields as one of the eternal land locations that cannot be contested.

Banjarmasin City Government will buy five hectares of land in the East Banjarmasin area at an early stage, and in the future, the eternal land will continue to be expanded.

The eternal land belongs to the City Government, but the cultivation will be handed over to the group of farmers to produce rice as much as possible according to the area of the land.

"The land will later become a land model to maintain food security for people in this region," added Ibn Sina.

The main harvest of local varieties Siam Mayang in the Tatah Belayung produced 6.57 tons of rice per hectare. This production is considered high enough for local types that only harvest once a year.