Indonesian Govt Forecasts 8.46 Million Tons of Rice Harvest in March-April

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture said that the national rice harvest in March–April 2024 is projected to reach 8.46 million tons.

Director general of food crops at the ministry, Suwandi, in a statement released on Saturday, said that the projection is based on the observation of the area sampling frame of Statistics Indonesia (BPS).

He assured that the rice supply will be safe until the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. This is because several regions have entered the harvest season, which will continue until May.

"Rice production in early 2024 meets national needs. BPS has released data on the projection of rice production in March–April reaching 8.46 million tons. The total rice production is quite large, sufficient to meet national needs," he informed.

Suwandi further said that in keeping with the directive of Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman, the ministry is focusing on increasing rice and corn production with the help of three strategies, namely stepping up the expansion of planting areas, increasing the planting index, and boosting productivity.

"The steps taken are accelerating planting, pumping from rivers to dry and rain-fed lands, shallow wells and deep wells to supply water, optimizing swamp lands, as well as solving problems directly in the field and being present for farmers," he explained.

Meanwhile, the deputy for production statistics at BPS, M. Habibullah, said that rice production in March is projected to reach 3.54 million tons, while in April, it is expected to be 4.92 million tons.

He added that 87 percent of the production in March will be contributed by 10 provinces: East Java, Central Java, West Java, South Sumatra, South Sulawesi, North Sumatra, Aceh, Lampung, West Nusa Tenggara, and Banten.

In April, 80 percent of the production will be spread in the 10 provinces as well.

He informed that the provinces with the biggest production potential in March will be East Java (840.94 thousand tons), Central Java (819.03 thousand tons), and West Java (358.61 thousand tons).

In April, the top three producers will be East Java (1.08 million tons), Central Java (893.28 thousand tons), and West Java (734.79 thousand tons).

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