JAKARTA - PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) continues to support the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) of the Republic of Indonesia in perfecting the i-Pubers application (Integrated Subsidized Fertilizer), as a commitment to improving the governance of subsidized fertilizer distribution. This was conveyed by Yana Nurahmad Haerudin, Senior Project Manager of Public Advocacy at Pupuk Indonesia, during a webinar on "Transformation of Subsidized Fertilizer Policies: i-Pubers," organized by Sinar Tani media on Wednesday (December 6, 2023).

Yana explained that i-Pubers is the result of the "marriage" between t-Pubers (Subsidized Fertilizer Redemption) owned by Kementan and the REKAN application from Pupuk Indonesia. This application integrates data of subsidized fertilizer recipients in e-allocation with fertilizer stock data at Pupuk Indonesia. "This application is used by kiosks to input subsidized fertilizer distribution data digitally," he emphasized.

Currently, i-Pubers has been implemented in the provinces of Riau, Bangka Belitung, South Kalimantan, North Sumatra, Central Sulawesi, and Southeast Sulawesi. In detail, in 3,140 kiosks or 12 percent of the total kiosks owned by Pupuk Indonesia throughout the country, which amounts to 26,400.

"In July 2023, Ministry of Agriculture requested the piloting of i-Pubers, and then in September, Pupuk Indonesia expanded its implementation. Through this integration, it ensures more targeted distribution of subsidized fertilizers," he said.

In its implementation, Yana mentioned that, in general, i-Pubers has been operating well in these six provinces. However, he also admitted that nationally there are still around 819 blank spots, or only about 3 to 4 percent of the total kiosks. The solution is to conduct subsidized fertilizer distribution transactions outside the kiosk points. In addition, Pupuk Indonesia has also received assistance from mobile operators by upgrading the network.

"Together with Ministry of Agriculture, we continue to make improvements so that the i-Pubers application can be applied optimally, making the governance of subsidized fertilizer distribution even better. Subsidized fertilizers can be received by farmers in accordance with regulations to maintain national food security," said Yana.

According to him, the mechanism of redeeming subsidized fertilizers using i-Pubers has become much easier. Farmers only need to come with their ID cards (Kartu Tanda Penduduk or KTP). The kiosk will then input the redemption transaction amount, and farmers will sign the transaction proof on i-Pubers.

"During the transaction, the farmer's ID card and the redeemed fertilizer will be photographed by the kiosk through i-Pubers, which is equipped with Geotagging technology. This technology can provide additional information such as geographical location and the name of the transaction place," said Yana.

The benefits obtained, Yana added, include the digitization of the redemption process and the administration documents of subsidized fertilizer redemption being more organized. Additionally, this application provides the ability to trace the distribution of subsidized fertilizers at the kiosk level using the National Identification Number (Nomor Induk Kependudukan or NIK). It will also facilitate real-time product stock control.

Meanwhile, Yanti Ermawati, a representative from the Directorate General of Infrastructure and Agricultural Facilities at Ministry of Agriculture, who also spoke at the event, stated that the development of the i-Pubers application is an effort to ensure that subsidized fertilizer distribution reaches its target.

"Subsidized fertilizers cover 5,931 sub-districts throughout Indonesia. To ensure that subsidized fertilizers really reach there, there must be an application that can gather transaction evidence. We are trying with Pupuk Indonesia. Through this trial, we can find solutions to the challenges that arise," said Erma.

She revealed that i-Pubers will be developed for the government's plan for direct assistance, which will transfer money to beneficiary farmers, and they will continue to improve the application to align with this plan," said Yanti.