TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo observed the location of the food estate project in his working visit to Central Kalimantan Province on Thursday, July 9. The first destination was Bentuk Jaya Village, Dadahup District, Kapuas Regency.

On that occasion, the President was accompanied by Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, and Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo as a guide. They inspected lands that would be turned into national food barns.

“The new food barn in Kapuas Regency is planned to be at potential areas of 20,704 hectares. Of the figure, lands that have been functioned amounted to 5,840 hectares,” as quoted from the statement released by the Press, Media, and Information Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat, Thursday, July 9, 2020.

In total, there are 165,000 hectares of potential land in Central Kalimantan for the establishment of the new farmlands. To date, some 85,500 hectares have been functioned as productive farmlands.

The farmer corporation would be the basis for the development of the new food estate project in Central Kalimantan, which would be integrated by consisting of agriculture, plantation, and animal livestock. Farmers would be consolidated in groups and would be provided with facilities, infrastructures, and other supports.

After reviewing the location of the food estate project, Jokowi along with the entourage inspected the primary irrigation channel at UPT A.5 in Dadahup District under the guidance of Minister Basuki Hadimuljono. The President then continued his visit to Pulang Pisau District via a land route.

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DEWI NURITA