Lampung, May 8, 2024 - PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) held a socialization event regarding the addition of subsidized fertilizer allocations to farmers, kiosk owners, distributors, and agricultural offices in Lampung. The government has set the allocation for fertilizer subsidies at 9.55 million tons, doubling from the previous 4.7 million tons.

The increase in subsidized fertilizer allocation is outlined in Minister of Agriculture Decision (Kepmentan) Number 249 of 2024 and Minister of Agriculture Regulation (Permentan) Number 01 of 2024 concerning Amendments to Permentan Number 10 of 2022. This socialization is a collaboration between Pupuk Indonesia, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Lampung Agricultural Office, the Ombudsman, and the Corruption Prevention Task Force of the Indonesian National Police. Representing Pupuk Indonesia at this event was the Director of Finance & General Affairs of PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja Palembang, Saifullah Lasindrang.

Saifullah explained that the Pupuk Indonesia Group supports the smooth, targeted, and easily redeemable production and distribution process of subsidized fertilizers to registered farmers. "The government has decided to increase the allocation of subsidized fertilizer quotas for the fiscal year 2024 from 4.7 million tons to 9.55 million tons. As a state-owned enterprise tasked with supporting national resilience, the Pupuk Indonesia Group is ready to fulfill the increased allocation of subsidized fertilizer and oversee the distribution and redemption processes to ensure they reach farmers as intended," Saifullah clarified.

Based on Kepmentan Number 249 of 2024, the government has allocated subsidized fertilizer to be 9.55 million tons. This subsidy allocation is aimed at four types, namely Urea, NPK, Special Formula NPK, and the latest addition, Organic fertilizer. The addition of allocation for these four types of fertilizers is set at 4,634,626 tons for Urea, 4,278,504 tons for NPK, 136,870 tons for Special Formula NPK, and 500,000 tons for Organic fertilizer.

In line with the policy set by Permentan Number 01 of 2024 and Kepmentan Number 249 of 2024, Pupuk Indonesia ensures the availability of stock in all sectors to support this policy. The current national stock of subsidized fertilizers is recorded at 1.4 million tons or 224 percent of the minimum requirement set by the government. Meanwhile, the stock available in the Lampung region is recorded at 60,115 tons or 239 percent of the minimum stock requirement.

In terms of distribution, as of May 6, 2024, Pupuk Indonesia has successfully distributed 180,297 tons of subsidized fertilizer, consisting of 94,172 tons of Urea and 86,125 tons of NPK in Lampung. Nationally, Pupuk Indonesia has also distributed subsidized fertilizer totaling 1.83 million tons or equivalent to 19 percent of the total subsidy allocation of 9.55 million tons. The breakdown is 1.06 million tons for Urea and 762,915 tons for NPK.

Furthermore, the additional allocation of subsidized fertilizer can be utilized by registered farmers or farmers who meet the criteria according to Permentan Number 01 of 2024, namely being part of a Farmer Group and registered in the electronic Group Definitive Needs Plan (e-RDKK). This subsidized fertilizer is intended for farmers engaged in the subsector of food crops such as rice, corn, and soybeans, as well as the horticulture subsector such as chili peppers, shallots, and garlic, and the plantation subsector such as sugarcane, cocoa, and coffee.

From these types of farming activities, it is stipulated that the maximum cultivated land area is 2 hectares, including farmers who are part of the Village Forest Community Institutions (LMDH), in accordance with statutory regulations. In this new regulation, the Electronic Group Definitive Needs Plan (e-RDKK) can be evaluated every four months in the current year. In other words, farmers who have not received allocations can register during the evaluation process in the current year.

Not stopping there, this event also serves as a platform to inform farmers receiving subsidized fertilizer that the additional allocation can be easily redeemed using their ID cards (KTP) at official kiosks. The redemption of fertilizer using the ID card can be done because currently all official kiosks are equipped with the i-Pubers application (Subsidized Fertilizer Integration). Through the i-Pubers application, kiosk owners can verify data by scanning the original ID cards of farmers so that subsidized fertilizers can be obtained by eligible farmers easily.

"We hope that all participants, especially the heads of farmer groups in this subsidized fertilizer policy socialization event, can provide education about the addition of subsidized fertilizer allocations for the fiscal year 2024. Additionally, we also hope that farmers can redeem subsidized fertilizer easily using their ID cards. Kiosk staff will promptly assist and supervise the fertilizer redemption process to ensure that subsidized fertilizers are utilized by eligible farmers in accordance with regulations," Saifullah concluded.

It is worth noting that the subsidized fertilizer policy socialization event regarding the addition of allocations, held at the Grand Mercure, Lampung, was attended by approximately 250 participants, including the Heads of Agricultural Offices at the District/City level in Lampung Province, District Verification Teams in Lampung Province, distributors, kiosk/retailer representatives, and representatives of farmer group leaders in Lampung Province.