Makassar, May 15, 2024 – PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) ensures that subsidized fertilizer is distributed accurately to all registered farmers. This was conveyed at the socialization event for the new subsidized fertilizer policy regarding the additional allocation of fertilizer subsidies to farmers, kiosk owners, distributors, and agricultural offices in Makassar, South Sulawesi (Sulsel).

"The government has decided to increase the volume of subsidized fertilizer in the 2024 fiscal year from 4.7 million tons to 9.55 million tons. This policy to increase the volume needs to be widely and massively socialized so that registered farmers can know and benefit from it. Additionally, the distribution process for this additional allocation of subsidized fertilizer must be well monitored," said Deni Dwiguna Sulaeman, SVP of Sales Strategy and Customer Service at Pupuk Indonesia.

Based on Minister of Agriculture Decision (Kepmentan) Number 249 of 2024, the government has set the subsidized fertilizer allocation at 9.55 million tons. This allocation is for four types of fertilizers: Urea, NPK, Special Formula NPK, and the newly included Organic fertilizer. The increased 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.

For South Sulawesi, the government has set an allocation of 869,355 tons, an increase of 451,718 tons from the previous allocation of 417,637 tons. The breakdown of the total allocation includes 407,492 tons of Urea, up from the previous 238,398 tons, 370,193 tons of NPK, up from the previous 173,164 tons, 42,118 tons of Special Formula NPK, up from the previous 6,074 tons, and 49,552 tons of Organic fertilizer.

To ensure the smooth distribution of subsidized fertilizers in South Sulawesi, Pupuk Indonesia has prepared several supporting facilities, including 42 Line III warehouses with a capacity of 292,251 tons, 53 distributors with 1,105 kiosk/retailer networks, and 30 field officers who will ensure all eligible farmers receive subsidized fertilizer according to regulations.

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 at all levels to support this policy. As of May 13, 2024, the national stock of subsidized fertilizers is recorded at 2.1 million tons, or 223 percent of the minimum requirement set by the government. Meanwhile, the stock available in South Sulawesi is recorded at 185,698 tons, or 575 percent of the minimum stock requirement.

Regarding distribution, as of May 13, 2024, Pupuk Indonesia has successfully distributed 1.98 million tons of subsidized fertilizers, equivalent to 20.8 percent of the total allocation of 9.55 million tons nationally. The breakdown is 1.15 million tons for Urea and 831,318 tons for NPK. In South Sulawesi, 175,806 tons have been distributed as of May 14, 2024, consisting of 105,324 tons of Urea, 69,404 tons of NPK, and 1,078 tons of Special Formula NPK.

Furthermore, the additional allocation of subsidized fertilizer can be utilized by registered farmers or those who meet the criteria according to Permentan Number 01 of 2024, which includes 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.

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

Moreover, this event also serves to inform subsidized fertilizer recipient farmers that the additional allocation can be easily redeemed using their ID cards (KTP) at official kiosks. The redemption of fertilizer using an 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 farmers' original ID cards so that subsidized fertilizers can be obtained easily by eligible farmers.

"We hope that all participants, especially the heads of farmer groups in this subsidized fertilizer policy socialization event, can educate others about the additional subsidized fertilizer allocations for the 2024 fiscal year. Additionally, we hope that farmers can easily redeem subsidized fertilizer using their ID cards. Kiosk staff will promptly assist and supervise the fertilizer redemption process so that subsidized fertilizers can be utilized by eligible farmers according to the regulations," Deni concluded.

It should be noted that this socialization event is a collaboration between Pupuk Indonesia, the Ministry of Agriculture, the South Sulawesi Agricultural Office, the Ombudsman, and the Corruption Prevention Task Force of the Indonesian National Police. The event, held at the Four Points Hotel in Makassar, was attended by approximately 250 participants, including the Heads of Agricultural Offices at the District/City level in South Sulawesi Province, District Verification Teams in South Sulawesi Province, distributors, kiosk/retailer representatives, and representatives of farmer group leaders in South Sulawesi Province.