Agriculture Ministry to evaluate impact of floods

The Agriculture Ministry has evaluated the impact of floods on agricultural production in some regions and will offer compensation to farmers whose fields are covered under agriculture insurance.

"We have sought a report," Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stated here, Thursday.

Amran made assurance that the ministry will assist the affected farmers and provide paddy seeds, while those covered under the agriculture insurance program could claim compensation.

According to the minister, currently, some 700 thousand hectares of land area has been covered under the insurance program.

Earlier, research head of the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies Hizkia Respatiadi noted that the farming community faced various challenges in the form of limited job opportunities in rural areas, fewer farmers having land ownership, and more of them working as farm workers without owning land, among others.

Moreover, Hizkia said the accelerated development of infrastructure has reduced the agricultural land and the purchasing price of food commodities.

He called on the government to increase budget allocation for various programs to improve the farmers` welfare in the country.

Currently, the budget for seeds, fertilizers, and subsidized rice has reached Rp52 trillion.

Reported by Muhammad Razi Rahman

Source: ANTARA