Agricultural and Plantation Production in Papua Not Affected by Covid-19

Agricultural and Plantation Production in Papua Not Affected by Covid-19

The Head of the Agriculture and Food Service of Papua Province, Semuel Siriwa, said that in several peasant centers in Papua, production was not affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in Papua. Although there have been 2 people who tested positive for corona, farmers in the district continue to produce.

"From October 2019 to March 2020, the total planting area of ​​rice in Merauke has reached 30,956 hectares, while the harvested area is only 654 hectares," Siriwa said, Monday (03/30/20).

The biggest harvest in Merauke is believed to occur in April 2020. Not only Merauke, in several other districts such as Nabire and Jayapura Regency, the planting area of ​​paddy is also quite large.

The condition of 600 hectares of paddy land in Sumber Muia Village, Kurip District, Merauke Regency, which is ready to be harvested in April 2020 / ist
In the period October 2019 to March 2020, the rice planting area in Nabire was 679 hectares with a harvest area up to March 2020 reaching 64.

Whereas in Jayapura Regency, in the same period the rice planting area was 248 hectares with the temporary harvest area being 133 hectares.

"Even though the government applies social distance, our farmers are still enthusiastic about farming. We still remind them to always take care of their health and cleanliness, "Siriwa said.

Not only rice, corn production in Papua also continues to run. Siriwa said, the largest corn planting area was in Nabire, 370 hectares and while the harvested area reached 131 hectares.

Overall in Papua, the rice planting area is 33,476 hectares with a temporary harvested area of ​​922.25 hectares. For corn, so far the planted area in Papua is 1,065.7 hectares and the harvested area has reached 256.63 hectares. Siriwa hopes that the problem of spreading the corona virus that has already occurred in more than 100 countries can be quickly resolved, especially in Papua.

"Hopefully this disaster can be quickly resolved, we hope that this epidemic does not interfere with the production of our farmers," concluded Siriwa.