Banjarmasin. Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman traveled across Kalimantan on Thursday to find new agricultural lands and expand the workforce, especially among the young generation in the farm sector.

Amran has announced the target to reach national self-sufficiency in food in three years and his ministry will need new cropland and farmers to produce enough food for the entire population.

He said youth involvement in the agricultural sector is key to achieving food self-sufficiency, one of President Prabowo Subianto’s top priorities.

He visited West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan in a single day in search of new farming land and young workers.

“In Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan, we will involve around 15,000 [farmers] of the millennial generation. Everything must be prepared from now so this program runs smoothly," Amran said after attending a meeting on paddy field openings in Banjarmasin, the capital of South Kalimantan.

"We visited three provinces today to fulfill President Prabowo Subianto's directive to achieve food self-sufficiency as soon as possible. Tomorrow, we will continue our journey to Merauke, the farthest east of Indonesia," he added.

During the meeting, Amran emphasized the importance of accelerating the opening of new, productive paddy fields to increase national rice production. He also ensured that all necessary interventions, such as providing production facilities, involving young farmers, and implementing modern agricultural technology, have been thoroughly planned.

"This coordination meeting aims to set targets, determine objectives, prepare production facilities, and ensure the involvement of young farmers,” he said.

In an interview with B-Universe Media Holdings last month, Amran revealed his strategies to attract millennial farmers by offering modern technology and a minimum monthly salary of Rp 10 million ($640), five times the average farmer's wage.

"Our program involves forming a team of 15 millennial brigades to manage 200 hectares of farmland. Each farmer can earn a minimum of Rp 10 million per month, with some earning up to Rp 20 million," Amran said. 

During his visit to West Kalimantan on Thursday, Amran inspected paddy fields developed under the government’s land optimization program in Singaraya Village, Sambas Regency.

West Kalimantan has around 540,000 hectares of paddy fields -- some can be harvested three times a year -- that can be crucial to materialize Indonesia’s ambition of becoming a rice exporter, Amran said.

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