First Harvest of South Papua Food Barn, New Milestone in Supporting National Food Security
South Papua– Indonesia has again recorded an important milestone in efforts to strengthen national food security by holding the first rice harvest in Wanam Village, South Papua. This activity is part of the National Strategic Program (PSN) in the agricultural sector and is expected to strengthen the role of eastern Indonesia in supporting food self-sufficiency.
This first harvest took place in a newly opened demonstration rice field plot, and was attended by more than 100 participants from various elements, ranging from local communities, TNI officers, to private representatives. The harvest results reached between 2.5 to 2.8 tons per hectare. With simple planting techniques based on local wisdom, this harvest shows the effectiveness of the initial approach in optimizing land potential.
Head of the Food Security Task Force, Major General TNI Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani, explained that the success of this first harvest was the result of a gradual approach in educating local communities to switch from traditional lifestyles that are adaptive in nature to productive agricultural patterns that support sustainable development. “The Wanam community used to hunt, now we are educating them slowly to switch to farming. We start from the simplest so that they do not have difficulty accepting new knowledge,” said Ahmad.
He also added that the potential of Wanam is not only important for South Papua, but also to support national food security as a whole. With its vast and fertile land, Wanam is considered worthy of being developed as a new food barn area in eastern Indonesia. “This confirms the great potential of Wanam land as a new rice barn in Papua,” he said.
In addition to government and TNI elements, the private sector also showed active support for the development of agriculture in South Papua. In this first harvest, a number of representatives from PT Jhonlin Group were present, including Haji Dillah, Willy as Director of Operations of PT Jhonlin Wanam, and Fendi, Director in Charge of the C7 Ship of PT Jhonlin Group. The involvement of the private sector is a reflection of cross-sector collaboration in accelerating development and empowering the local community’s economy.
The first harvest in Wanam Village is not just a ceremonial event, but a symbol of the success of an integrated approach in Papua’s development. This momentum is expected to be the starting point for the revival of the agricultural sector in South Papua, as well as real evidence that the eastern region of Indonesia is able to contribute greatly to national food security.
