Lowokwaru, MC – The Mayor of Malang, Danrem 083/Baladhika Jaya, Head of the Malang City Agriculture Service (Disperta), Head of Bulog Malang, Dandim 0833 Malang City, Tasikmadu Village Head and TNI ranks held a rice harvest with farmers in the rice fields in the Tasikmadu area, Monday (10/10).
Although in an urban area, Malang City still maintains the rice fields owned by residents. The Malang City Government through Disperta continues to provide special attention to residents who work as farmers. Various assistance from the government in the form of seeds, fertilizers, and harvest infrastructure was handed over properly. With all that, it is hoped that farmers can carry out their activities well and produce productive rice.
That was what was conveyed by the Mayor of Malang, H. Moch. Anton before carrying out this joint harvest. The man who is familiarly called Abah Anton added that farmers should be aware of the rainy season that has often poured lately. "Don't let farmers fail to harvest because of uncertain weather," he advised.
Meanwhile, Head of Malang City Agriculture Service Ir. Hadi Santoso said that this time farmers harvested Siherang rice where the seeds were subsidized by the government and farmers bought them at a very cheap price. "In one hectare of rice fields, with these seeds, it can produce around 15 tons of milled dry rice. This is extraordinary, and it is all also inseparable because farmers received assistance from the TNI," he explained.
Furthermore, the man who is familiarly called Soni said that the current unpredictable weather does not have much impact on farmers. Therefore, the 23 hectares of rice that is ready to be harvested is currently being harvested simultaneously. "There is only about two hectares of poor quality rice and it is spread across the Malang City area. However, we can handle it well, and that amount is relatively small," he added.
He added that the need for rice for Malang City residents reached 101 thousand tons and its productivity only reached 14.500 tons. To address and meet this need, the Malang City Government together with Disperta collaborated with nearby areas such as Malang Regency whose rice productivity is very high.
Separately, Danrem 083/Baladhika Jaya Colonel Inf. Wachid Apriliyanto said that his staff were ready and would always accompany farmers from seeding to harvest. "The TNI, especially the TNI AD, has an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding/Memorandum of Understanding_ed) with farmers, farmer groups, and farmer group associations so that we are always ready to accompany farmers for their success in their work," he said. (say/yon)
