Jayapura, Jubi – Head of Jayapura City Food Security and Agriculture Office Jean Hendrik Rollo said about 21,000 ha of land in the city has the potential for agricultural development to increase food security.
“These thousands of hectares of land are spread across the city and Muara Tami District,” said Jean Rollo at the Jayapura Mayor’s Office on Thursday, October 13, 2022.
He said to maximize the use of land, it was necessary to optimize agricultural mechanization so that rice fields and plantations are well cultivated.
“Mechanization can encourage farmers to continue farming even after they graduate from college, by utilizing agricultural technology,” he said.
According to Jean Rollo, 21,000 hectares of land would be used to grow tubers, various types of vegetables, chili, onions, and rice.
“The use of machine tools such as two-wheeled and four-wheeled tractors, not only creates new jobs but also increases production,” he explained.
Jean Rollo added that modern agricultural tools could increase the interest of young people to become farmers. Currently, young farmers are still very rare.
“The new generation born from farming families go to college but very few of them return to farming,” he said.
“In Jayapura, there are 126 farmer groups, 4,000 farming households, and 12,000 farmers. One farmer group has 20 to 40 households,” he added. (*)
