Jakarta, June 27, 2024 - PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) warmly welcomes the proposal for cassava to be one of the recipients of subsidized fertilizer. Cassava, as an alternative food commodity, contains carbohydrates equivalent to rice, making efforts to increase cassava productivity supportive of the national food security program.

Tri Wahyudi Saleh, Marketing Director of Pupuk Indonesia, expressed his support in a webinar titled "Is Fertilizer Subsidy Still Needed for Cassava?" organized by ProPakTani on Thursday (27/6/2024). Tri assured that Pupuk Indonesia already has NPK fertilizer specifically formulated to enhance cassava productivity.

"Pupuk Indonesia is experienced in developing commodity-based NPK fertilizers. Currently, Pupuk Indonesia also has the capability to produce NPK fertilizers to meet the needs of cassava farmers. If the Government issues regulations regarding subsidized NPK fertilizers for cassava commodities, we are ready to produce them," said Tri Wahyudi.

He added that the fertilizer specifically formulated for cassava is NPK Singkong Pusri. This fertilizer contains 17 percent Nitrogen, 6 percent Phosphate, and 25 percent KCL. NPK Singkong can significantly improve the growth and productivity of cassava.

Pupuk Indonesia has introduced NPK Singkong to farmers in several areas using the demonstration plot (demplot) system. Pupuk Indonesia also created a Cassava Village in Central Lampung, precisely in Sriwijaya Mataram Village, Bandar Mataram District. This village serves as a pilot project for cassava commodity development by Pupuk Indonesia.

"The fertilization dosage reaches 700 kilograms per hectare or according to the results of soil condition analysis. Pupuk Indonesia has educated farmers not to fertilize arbitrarily; we first analyze the soil nutrients. Pupuk Indonesia has deployed soil testing vehicles that can help farmer groups analyze the nutrient content of the soil in an area, ensuring precise fertilization according to the plant's needs," explained Tri Wahyudi.

Another proof of Pupuk Indonesia's attention to the cassava commodity, he added, is that they have conducted demplots on former tin mining land in Bangka Belitung. The fertility of the former mining land was restored using Pupuk Indonesia's products, making it suitable for cassava cultivation. The cultivation supervision also uses NPK Singkong.

"Cassava farmers who previously received subsidized fertilizers can benefit from the presence of NPK Singkong. The issue is whether this fertilizer can be included in the subsidy scheme, which is something we need to discuss," he emphasized.

Lastly, he revealed that the Indonesian Cassava Society (MSI) had informed the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) of the Republic of Indonesia that the results of NPK Singkong trials in several locations in Lampung Province showed a significant increase in harvest productivity. Based on these results, MSI recommended NPK Singkong Pusri to be subsidized for the cassava commodity.

"This year, the Government increased the allocation of subsidized fertilizers for farmers from the previous 4.7 million tons to 9.55 million tons. However, there are several policy changes, initially, subsidized fertilizers were for 70 commodities, now only nine commodities, and cassava was excluded from receiving subsidies. This is a good opportunity to include cassava as a recipient of subsidized fertilizers," concluded Tri Wahyudi.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Food Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia, Suwandi, revealed at the same event that cassava cultivation land in Indonesia is the third largest after rice and maize for food commodities, ranging from 600 thousand to 700 thousand hectares. Annual production is between 16 thousand to 17 thousand tons.

However, the national average productivity of cassava is still 25 to 27 tons per hectare. This productivity can still be boosted to 40 to 60 tons per hectare.

"To increase productivity, good inputs are needed, one of which is subsidized fertilizer. We gather proposals from farmers in various regions, and many have expressed the need for subsidized fertilizers for cassava crops," said Suwandi.