Around 9,000 hectares of Rice Fields Flooded in Central Java Amid Rice Price Hike

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Around 9,368.5 hectares of rice fields in Central Java were flooded amidst rising rice prices these past two months. The floods also submerged agricultural land for other commodities such as corn and shallots. Head of the Central Java Agriculture and Plantation Office Supriyanto said on Friday that the floods could potentially “decrease crop yields”.

The office also recorded that the largest agricultural land affected by the flooding was Grobogan Regency, which submerged 5,348 hectares of rice fields.

It’s followed by Demak Regency with 3,067 hectares of land affected by flooding, consisting of 2,937 hectares of rice fields, 126 hectares of corn fields, and 4 hectares of shallot fields. The floods in Demak also closed off the Pantura route for more than a week.

As a result of the flood, the ready-to-harvest rice was damaged. “Some are rotten, while others grew some sprouts," said one of the farmers, Muhaimin, aged 35. All of the rice he planted were damaged by the flood.

In Brebes Regency, floods submerged 1,181.5 hectares of agricultural land. It consisted of 871.5 hectares of rice fields, 119 hectares of corn fields, and 191 hectares of shallot fields. Then in Kudus Regency, floods submerged 212 rice fields.

Responding to flooding, the Agriculture and Plantation Office plans to disburse aid to the affected areas. These include rice seeds, fertilizers, harvesting machines, tractors, water pumps, rehabilitation of tertiary irrigation networks, and disbursement of Rice Farming Business Insurance or AUTP.

JAMAL ABDUN NASHR

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