Jakarta. State-owned fertilizer maker Pupuk Indonesia said that it had made sure there were enough subsidized fertilizers.

According to Pupuk Indonesia, the company has 1,453,132 tons of subsidized fertilizers as of Oct. 23. This is equivalent to 275 percent of what the government asks for.

“So our supply of subsidized fertilizer is enough, we have almost threefold of what the government requires,” Pupuk Indonesia president director Rahmad Pribadi said in Sukoharjo on Tuesday.

As many as 986,551 tons of the subsidized fertilizers are urea fertilizers. The remaining 466,582 tons are Pupuk Indonesia’s NPK fertilizers, namely fertilizers which mainly encompass nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. According to Rahmad, the company is ramping up the supply of subsidized fertilizers as the harvest season gets delayed due to the El Nino-induced longer dry season.

Pupuk Indonesia also pledged to keep an eye on the supplies of non-subsidized fertilizers in its kiosks across the archipelago. According to Rahmad, these kiosks --which reach a whopping 26,000 in number-- provide both subsidized and unsubsidized fertilizers. 

The government is aiming to produce 35 million tons of rice in 2024. 

Pupuk Indonesia also seeks to boost farmers’ productivity and income via the so-called Makmur (Prosperous) program. The company aims to meet the farmers’ fertilizer needs via non-subsidized fertilizers. As of Oct. 23, Pupuk Indonesia has distributed 5,033,717 tons of fertilizers. This is about 64.1 percent of the planned 7,856,951 tons of fertilizers. The company has also distributed 2,968,333 tons of urea fertilizers and 2,037,533 tons of NPK fertilizers. 

Farmers eligible for the subsidized fertilizers are those registered on e-Alokasi or those who meet the requirements set out in the 2022 Agriculture Ministry Regulation on Allocation for Subsidized Fertilizers. The regulation states that eligible farmers are those who are part of the farming group and are registered in the Simluhtan information system. Their land must also span 2 hectares at most. Nine strategic commodities that are eligible for the subsidized fertilizers are rice, corn, soybeans, chilies, onions, garlic, coffee, sugar cane, and cocoa. 

Sukoharjo is one of the food buffers in Central Java with a  rice planting index of 300 or thrice a year, according to deputy regent Agus Santosa. The standing crop of rice in Sukoharjo already spans 11,711 hectares.

"If we can keep up this standing crop, the harvest area in December 2023 will be 50,949 hectares. The farmers' rice harvest in the third planting season is satisfactory, with a productivity of 8 tons per hectare. The selling price of farmers' harvested grain is currently at Rp 7,300 per kilogram," Agus said.

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