Jakarta, January 5, 2025 – The Europe Today: The Indonesian government plans to roll out the water-sufficient paddy irrigation (IPHA) technique to all rice fields across the country after a successful pilot project in Cirebon, West Java, Minister of Public Works Dody Hanggodo announced.
The IPHA technique emphasizes efficient management of crops, water, and soil, resulting in enhanced productivity and revenue for farmers while conserving water.
Minister Hanggodo highlighted the success of the project in the Rentang irrigation area, where rice production significantly increased despite reduced water usage.
“We intend to implement IPHA nationwide as it enables farmers to maximize yields while conserving water. I am confident in the success of this initiative,” he stated during a review of the Rentang irrigation area.
Following the successful pilot, the government aims to replicate the initiative across approximately two thousand hectares of land in the Kamun irrigation area of Majalengka, West Java.
Bob Arthur Lombogia, Director General of Water Resources at the Ministry of Public Works, noted that the IPHA technique helps reduce water usage by 30 percent and allows farmers to reserve water for other crops during dry seasons.
Additionally, the method requires only 10 kilograms of seeds per hectare, shortens harvest times, and boosts rice production to 11 tons per hectare.
Sunaryo, a local farmer, shared his experience of adopting the IPHA technique over the past year, reporting an increase in yields from 8.4 tons per hectare to between 9.8 tons and 10.5 tons per hectare.
