BPPT Prepares Artificial Rain to Combat Drought

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Many regions potentially face drought in this year’s long dry season, especially agriculture areas that mostly spread in Java, Bali, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), and West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

The government, therefore, prepared several preventive measures such as the use of weather modification technology (TMC) that will be carried out by the Assessment and Application of Technology Agency (BPPT).

“When drought hits many agriculture areas, particularly rice plants, it is feared to cause crop failure. So we are ready to run artificial rain operation,” said the agency head Hammam Riza after a meeting on the disaster anticipation in the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) office, Jakarta, Monday, July 22.

Hammam explained the President and many regional heads ordered the weather modification project as it is expected to tackle the drought that already hit several Indonesian regions.

“The weather modification or publicly known artificial rain will be run by BPPT in coordination with BNPB and BMKG,” he added.

Hammam went on to say that Minister of Village, Development of Disadvantaged Region, and Transmigration, Eko Putro Sandjojo, had coordinated with BPPT to do the rain making for villages that are potential to face drought in a bid to avoid the risk of crop failure.

ERWIN PRIMA