Jambi - The Ministry of Agriculture through the Agricultural Instrument Standardization Agency (BSIP) has formed 11 food brigades to improve the agricultural index in Tanjung Jabung Timur (Tanjabtim) Regency, Jambi.
Head of the Food Crops and Horticulture Service (TPH Service) of Tanjabtim Regency, Sunarno in Jambi, Sunday said that this food brigade was formed as a manifestation of the ministry's seriousness in increasing production to support national food self-sufficiency.
"The food brigade formed by young millennials, there are already 11 formed in Tanjabtim," he said.
He explained that this food brigade under the auspices of BSIP, has the task of utilizing agricultural land so that it can be planted three times a year to achieve IP 300 (Agricultural Index).
So far, farmers in Tanjabtim have not been able to plant rice three times a year due to habit, therefore, the presence of the food brigade is expected to change this mindset (habit).
"The farmers here are only able to plant twice a year (IP 200), I hope the food brigade can realize the wishes of the central government," he said.
He continued, to make this year's national resilience program a success, the Directorate General of Facilities and Infrastructure (Ditjen Sarpras) of the Ministry of Agriculture provided assistance in the form of agricultural tools and machinery (Alsintan) for farmer groups in Tanjabtim.
The assistance is in the form of three transplanters (planting tools), four-wheeled tractors (soil cultivators), and 26 hand tractors (rice field plowing tools). This agricultural machinery will be given to farmer groups.
To support the food self-sufficiency program, the regional government has formed Regional Regulation No. 18 of 2013 concerning Sustainable Food Agricultural Land (Perda LP2B) and designated 17,000 hectares for agricultural land.