Banjarmasin, May 30, 2024 – The government, through the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan), has officially increased the allocation of subsidized fertilizer to 9.55 million tons. This increased allocation coincides with the implementation of easier subsidized fertilizer redemption for farmers registered in the RDKK (Definitive Group Needs Plan), requiring only an Identity Card (KTP).

Tri Wahyudi Saleh, Marketing Director of PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero), stated that registered farmers can redeem subsidized fertilizer through the i-Pubers (Subsidized Fertilizer Integration) application, which is already implemented in about 27,000 official kiosks across Indonesia, including South Kalimantan (Kalsel).

“We hope that farmers can easily redeem subsidized fertilizer using their KTP. Kiosk staff will promptly assist and oversee the redemption process so that the fertilizer can be used by eligible farmers according to regulations. i-Pubers is the leading solution to ensure accurate distribution of fertilizer. This digital innovation is not only efficient but also helps direct subsidized fertilizer to the right targets,” said Tri Wahyudi.

The i-Pubers application is an innovation resulting from collaboration between Pupuk Indonesia and Kementan. It is designed to simplify the process for farmers to redeem subsidized fertilizer by integrating data between the e-Allocation recipient list and Pupuk Indonesia’s fertilizer stock data at distributor (kiosk) partners.

As of February 1, 2024, the i-Pubers implementation has reached 100 percent nationwide and is available in more than 27,000 kiosks across Indonesia. The implementation of the i-Pubers application is a significant step forward in the distribution of subsidized fertilizer in Indonesia. The application is expected to help farmers obtain subsidized fertilizer more easily and efficiently.

Currently, Pupuk Indonesia is conducting socialization activities on the subsidized fertilizer policy according to Permentan Number 01 of 2024 and Kepmentan Number 249 of 2024 to farmers, kiosk owners, distributors, and agricultural services. Under this regulation, the government has set the subsidized fertilizer allocation to 9.55 million tons. The allocation includes four types of fertilizers: Urea, NPK, NPK Special Formula, and the newly added Organic fertilizer. The allocation increases are set at 4,634,626 tons for Urea, 4,278,504 tons for NPK, 136,870 tons for NPK Special Formula, and 500,000 tons for Organic fertilizer.

For South Kalimantan, the government has set an allocation of 111,316 tons, an increase of 59,684 tons from the previous allocation of 51,632 tons. The total allocation includes 47,224 tons of Urea (up from 27,628 tons), 51,314 tons of NPK (up from 24,003 tons), and 12,778 tons of Organic fertilizer.

“The government has decided to increase the volume of subsidized fertilizer for the 2024 fiscal year from 4.7 million tons to 9.55 million tons. This volume increase policy needs to be widely and massively socialized so that registered farmers can know and benefit from it. Additionally, the distribution and delivery process of the additional subsidized fertilizer volume must be well supervised,” said Tri Wahyudi.

To ensure the smooth distribution of subsidized fertilizer in South Kalimantan, Pupuk Indonesia has prepared several supporting facilities, including 17 Level III warehouses, 8 subsidized fertilizer distributors, 4 retail distributors, and 283 kiosk/retailer networks, supported by 12 field officers to 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 27, 2024, the stock of subsidized and non-subsidized fertilizer nationwide is recorded at 2.02 million tons. The stock of subsidized fertilizer is 1,331,541 tons, or 217 percent of the minimum requirement set by the government. This includes 828,259 tons of Urea, 503,283 tons of NPK. The remaining stock includes 586,264 tons of non-subsidized Urea and 104,271 tons of non-subsidized NPK.

In South Kalimantan, the available stock is recorded at 31,245 tons, or 1,520 percent of the minimum stock requirement. This includes 9,389 tons of Urea and 19,610 tons of NPK subsidized fertilizer. The non-subsidized stock includes 703 tons of Urea and 1,543 tons of NPK.

As for distribution, as of May 27, 2024, Pupuk Indonesia has successfully distributed 2.33 million tons of subsidized fertilizer, or 24.5 percent of the total subsidized allocation of 9.55 million tons nationwide. This includes 1.34 million tons of Urea, 985,115 tons of NPK, and 5,881 tons of NPK Special Formula. In South Kalimantan, 21,524 tons have been distributed by May 27, 2024, consisting of 11,002 tons of Urea and 10,522 tons of NPK.

The increased allocation of subsidized fertilizer can be utilized by registered farmers or those who meet the criteria set by Permentan Number 01 of 2024, i.e., being part of a Farmers Group and registered in the electronic definitive group needs plan (e-RDKK). This subsidized fertilizer is intended for farmers engaged in the cultivation of food crops such as rice, corn, and soybeans, as well as horticultural crops such as chili, shallots, and garlic, and plantation crops such as sugarcane, cocoa, and coffee.

For these types of farming activities, the criteria set a maximum land area of 2 hectares, including farmers who are part of the Forest Village Community Institution (LMDH), in accordance with the regulations. Under the new rules, the e-RDKK can be evaluated every four months within the current year. This means that farmers who have not yet received an allocation can input their data during the registration process in coordination with local extension officers.

It should be noted that this socialization activity is a collaboration between Pupuk Indonesia, the Ministry of Agriculture, the South Kalimantan Agriculture Service, the Ombudsman, and the POLRI Corruption Prevention Task Force. The event, held at Fugo Hotel Banjarmasin, was attended by approximately 250 participants, including heads of district/city agriculture offices in South Kalimantan Province, district Verval teams in South Kalimantan Province, distributors, kiosk/retailer representatives, and farmers' group representatives in South Kalimantan Province.