Accelerating the Data Gathering and Inputting Processes for Subsidized Specific Cocoa Fertilizer
Poso, June 24, 2019—As
the result of internal meeting, the Directorate General of Agricultural
Infrastructures and Facilities, Ministry of Agriculture Republic of
Indonesia will initiate the distribution of subsidized cocoa specific
fertilizers in some districts in Sulawesi during the 2019 fiscal year as
tryout. And in order to provide assistance and to ensure the
preparation of this distribution, Cocoa Sustainability Partnership will
perform series of visits to the selected district level government.
Furthermore, the visits are also aimed to establish coordination of
group definitive needs plans (Rencana Definitif Kebutuhan Kelompok/RDKK) in each district.
The visit was started in Poso District, Central Sulawesi Province. The team members of Cocoa Sustainability Partnership were welcomed by the Head of Agriculture Office of Poso District, Suratno, SP., M.Si. and staffs. The coordination meeting was also attended by Ir. Fabian Amir Djafar, M.Si. as the Head of Plantation Unit, and Alpius Lampelulu, SP., M.Si., as the Head of Agricultural Infrastructures and Facilities of Agriculture Office of Poso District. “At this moment, the agricultural extension staffs are inputting and compiling the data of RDKK at village level, and most of the data have been inputted into online RDKK recording system,” as mentioned by Suratno, SP., M.Si. during the meeting. The compiling and recording processes of these farmers group needs for subsidized cocoa specific fertilizers will be finalized in June 2019, as the dateline of Ministry of Agriculture of Indonesia.
In Palu, Central Sulawesi Province, the team members of Cocoa Sustainability Partnership also conducted a coordination meeting with the provincial government. Ir. Maya Malania Noor, MT., as the Head of Livestock and Plantation Office of Central Sulawesi Province, and Ir. Mulyadi, M.Si., the Head of Agriculture, Food Crops, and Horticulture of Sigi District, Central Sulawesi, and staffs were welcoming the team members for the coordination meeting. “We are fully supporting the implementation of this program, and this policy will provide direct benefits to the cocoa farmers in our region. After the meeting, we will coordinate all district level governments and agricultural extension offices to accelerate the gathering process of RDKK at district level,” said Ir. Maya Malania Noor, MT.
The visits were also conducted in several districts in South Sulawesi Province. And during the visits, the enthusiasms of local government for plantation sector were relatively high. In Luwu Utara District, the Head of Food Crops, Horticulture, and Plantation of Luwu Utara District expressed that this program was highly expected by the cocoa farmers to be implemented, and as one of cocoa production areas in Indonesia, the gathering processes of RDKK and inputting into online system will be finalized as soon as possible. Moreover, in Luwu District, Cocoa Sustainability Partnership was also welcomed by the Head of Plantation Unit, and the Head of Agricultural Infrastructures and Facilities Unit of Agriculture Office of Luwu District, and their staffs.
As in Luwu Utara District and Luwu Timur District, the agriculture and plantation offices will collect the data by establishing coordination among PT. Mars which worked in these regions to check the data in the field in order to ensure that gathered data were contained with the real data of cocoa farmers, and the readiness of farm for fertilizing activities.
The gathered data of group definitive needs plan for subsidized cocoa specific fertilizer will be referred as the baseline of Ministry of Agriculture in providing the amount and volume of subsidiary allocation for cocoa specific fertilizer to the cocoa farmers in some regions in Indonesia, and also as references for the Pupuk Indonesia to produce the volume of fertilizers. Periodically, Cocoa Sustainability Partnership will check the data gathering processes in some district level agriculture and plantation office in order to ensure that the allocation of subsidized cocoa specific fertilizers had been fulfilled the amount and volume rate for the fiscal year of 2019. (CSP/AH)