WNAM MONITORING: President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) stated that the government has envisioned East Kotawaringin district in Central Kalimantan as one of the food buffer regions for Nusantara Capital City (IKN) in East Kalimantan.
He made the remarks while reviewing the implementation of water pumping on agricultural land in Bapeang village, East Kotawaringin, on Wednesday.
“The water pumping program aims to establish East Kotawaringin as a food buffer zone for IKN,” Jokowi said.
He added that through the pumping program, the Ministry of Agriculture hopes to increase the national crop planting frequency from once to three times a year, with the objective of ramping up food production.
Jokowi emphasized that an increase in planting frequency in East Kotawaringin is expected to result in excess output, which can then be utilized to meet the future capital’s food needs.
“This also applies to other districts experiencing excessive production,” Jokowi said. “The surplus will be directed to IKN.”
The head of East Kotawaringin district, Halikinnor, said that the local government has developed a related master plan that will be proposed to the Ministry of Agriculture.
“Given its extensive agricultural land area, East Kotawaringin is well-positioned to serve as a food buffer for IKN,” he said.
He added that President Jokowi had emphasized the need for East Kotawaringin to strengthen livestock and corn farming activities to enhance food resilience.
“We will follow up on the President’s directives by coordinating with the relevant ministries,” Halikinnor said.
