Minister of Agriculture: Swamps will realize Indonesia as world food barns 2045

Banjarbaru, S Kalimantan (Antaranews Kalsel) - Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman said the potential for swamps scattered throughout the archipelago is able to realize Indonesia as the world's food granary in 2045.


"The potential for swampland is very large, so we are sure that if it is utilized more optimally, it can realize Indonesia's world food granary in 2045," he said in Banjarbaru, Wednesday.

He spoke on the sidelines of the opening of the Second National Swamp Agriculture Week (PPRN) which is centered in the garden area of the Swamp Farm Research Institute (Balittra) in Banjarbaru.

Swampland in Indonesia, both tidal swamp and swampy swamp, reach 24.8 million hectares out of 34.12 million hectares that are still not fully utilized.
    
"Particularly in Kalimantan, the swampland area reaches 10.03 million hectares and not all of it has been fully utilized to support agricultural production in general," he said.
     
The Ministry of Agriculture, he pointed out, gradually worked on swamps to be used as agricultural areas and started from the South-South region of Indonesia, namely South Sumatra and South Kalimantan.
     
Currently, the area of swamp land that has been cultivated reaches 2.6 million hectares and is expected to be able to increase so it can realize the world food barn.

According to him, the agricultural productivity of swampland experienced a significant increase through agricultural technology innovation from the previous 2 tons of rice per hectare to 6 tons.

The Ministry, through the Research and Development Agency, continues to innovate technology, he said, so that it can increasingly utilize the potential of swampland into a productive agricultural land.
    
"If the area of swampland being cultivated is able to reach 10 million hectares, we believe that Indonesia's target of becoming a world food granary in 2045 can be realized," he said.