As of March 2023, Subsidized Fertilizer Has Been Distributed 1.42 Million Tons 

JAKARTA – PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) has distributed subsidized fertilizer of 1.42 million tons from January to March 8, 2023. This amount is equivalent to 79.6% of the allocation until March 2023 of 2.23 million tons.

The total allocation of subsidized fertilizers set by the government in 2023 is 7.85 million tons. In detail, Urea fertilizer is 4.64 million tons and NPK is 3.21 million tons. Meanwhile, the production plan of Pupuk Indonesia in 2023 is 12.3 million tons, both subsidized and non-subsidized fertilizers.

Marketing Director of Pupuk Indonesia, Gusrizal, said that the distribution of subsidized fertilizers was carried out in accordance with the allocation set by the government. In this case, subsidized fertilizers are of two types, namely Urea and NPK fertilizers.

"In detail, Urea fertilizer has been distributed by 840 thousand tons, while NPK fertilizer has been distributed by 586 thousand tons," explained Gusrizal in Jakarta, Thursday (9/3/2023).

Subsidized fertilizer, he continued, is only distributed to farmers who are entitled according to the criteria from the Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture (Permentan) Number 10 of 2022, for farmers who do not meet the criteria, they cannot get subsidized fertilizer. The requirements for obtaining subsidized fertilizer are mandatory to be members of farmer groups, registered in SIMLUHTAN (Agricultural Extension Management Information System), work on a maximum of two hectares of land. In addition, subsidized fertilizers are currently focused on 9 types of strategic commodities, namely rice, corn, soybeans, chilies, onions, garlic, coffee, sugarcane, and cocoa, from those previously intended for about 72 commodities.

Meanwhile, the stock of subsidized fertilizers nationally on March 9, 2023 was recorded at 912 thousand tons. This amount is almost twice as much as the minimum stock requirement of 340 thousand tons.

Pupuk Indonesia, said Gusrizal also has customer service that can be accessed by all farmers with toll-free contact at 0800 100 8001 or WA 0811 9918 001. Through customer service, Pupuk Indonesia will accommodate complaints related to subsidized fertilizers both from availability, price, and quality.

Previously, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that he often received complaints from farmers in villages about subsidized fertilizers. Jokowi also mentioned that currently all countries in the world are having difficulty obtaining fertilizer raw materials due to the Russian-Ukrainian war. This disrupted supply caused fertilizer prices to rise.

Responding to these complaints, the government plans to increase domestic fertilizer production capacity. In February 2023, Jokowi has just inaugurated the NPK fertilizer factory owned by PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda (PIM) of 500 thousand tons. On the same occasion, PIM also re-operated the PIM 1 plant with a capacity of 570 thousand tons of urea, as well as complementing the PIM-2 plant which also had a capacity of 570 thousand tons of urea.

In addition, the government also plans to establish a fertilizer industry area in Fakfak Regency, West Papua Province. The project has been designated as one of the National Strategic Projects (PSN).