BALI (30/12) – In order to support the distribution of subsidized fertilizer according to government allocations and the 6T principle, namely, right quality, right amount, right type, right price, right time and right place. PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) agreed to collaborate with the Agriculture and Food Security Service of the Province of Bali in implementing a digitalization system for the agricultural sector.

This agreement is contained in the MoU on Cooperation in the Development of Agricultural Monitoring and Evaluation Systems in the Bali region. This collaboration was signed directly by the Director of Pupuk Indonesia Business Transformation, Panji Winanteya Ruky and the Head of the Agriculture and Food Security Service for the Province of Bali, I Wayan Sunada. Also witnessing Pupuk Indonesia SEVP Marketing Operations, Gatoet Gembiro Noegroho, SVP Planning & Management of Pupuk Indonesia PSO, Eric Juliana Rachman, Digital Transformation SPM, Ari Novan Setiono and Fertilizer Subsidy Reform SPM, Maslani.

"To advance the agricultural sector in Bali through technology, through digitization, that way we can increase productivity, we can increase the efficiency of farmers, and of course we can avoid, for example, crop failures, pest attacks and others," said the Director of Transformation Pupuk Indonesia , Panji Winanteya Ruky.

Panji said that Pupuk Indonesia as the producer and distributor of subsidized fertilizer had made various efforts to support the distribution process. One of them is through piloting the use of the Rekan Application which will start in September 2022 in the Province of Bali. At least, this digitalization system has been implemented 100 percent in 152 complete fertilizer kiosks (KPL) spread across nine districts/cities.

According to him, the Rekan application makes it easy for farmers who want to redeem subsidized fertilizer. This is because farmers who receive fertilizer subsidy allocations only need to bring an identity card (KTP). Apart from Bali, currently there are 27,500 identity cards that have installed and used the Rekan application, although it has only recently been used to report stock and record transactions for retail or non-subsidized products.

“The Partners application also accommodates redemption in groups by the heads of subak/farmer groups or their representatives. This is of course in line with our aim to make it easier but still accountable and right on target," said Panji.

Pupuk Indonesia together with the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) are also developing and testing a spatial data collection system for agricultural land starting in November 2022. The application of this digital system aims to improve planning and data collection. This system has recorded about 8,000 farmers, 141,000 plots of land, and around 3,500 hectares of land in Penebel District, Tabanan, Bali.

In this way, said Panji, the digital system for the agricultural sector that has been implemented by Pupuk Indonesia in the Province of Bali is in accordance with the mandate contained in the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture (Permentan) Number 10 of 2022 concerning Procedures for Determining the Allocation and Highest Retail Price (HET) of Subsidized Fertilizers in the Agricultural Sector .

Fertilizer Subsidy Reform SPM, Maslani explained that the signing of this cooperation MoU was a follow-up collaboration between Pupuk Indonesia and the Agriculture & Food Security Service of the Province of Bali. This is because Bali is the location for the pilot project for the development of the Pupuk Indonesia Group digital system. "We are also ready to collaborate in terms of digitizing agricultural cultivation or related to fertilizers, and other digitalization such as those relating to cultivation, planting season, harvest season and so on, we can digitize together and we can monitor together which will improve the performance of the agriculture service and Pupuk Indonesia. ,” Maslani said.

Pupuk Indonesia itself has implemented a digital system from Line I to Line IV (Kiosk). That way, the existing digital system can be integrated with the digital system owned by the Department of Agriculture and even developed together.

On the same occasion, the Head of the Agriculture and Food Security Service for the Province of Bali, I Wayan Sunada, welcomed the MoU on Cooperation in the Development of an Agricultural Monitoring and Evaluation System in the Bali region. According to him, the cooperation that has been signed has a positive impact on both the process of distribution and redemption of fertilizer.

"In an effort to facilitate the absorption of fertilizers in the field, PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) has implemented a digital application, Retail Management System or Partners, which facilitates retail sales and subsidized fertilizers at kiosks. I hope that the Rekan application will simplify and assist kiosks in monitoring sales or provide efficiency in recording and transaction matters, even this digital system can increase transparency in the distribution of fertilizers," he concluded.