Agriculture Minister Amran expands aid to landless laborers

Indonesian Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman has implemented new regulations to provide agricultural machinery and equipment assistance (alsintan) to landless farm laborers. Previously, these workers were ineligible for government aid due to not owning land or being part of formal farmer groups. Under the new Ministry of Agriculture Regulation (Permentan), landless laborers can now form groups with the help of field instructors to access tools such as tractors, combine harvesters, and planting machines.

In Karawang, West Java, the Minister is also focusing on mitigating drought through large-scale pumping optimization. The initiative targets 3,000 hectares of rice fields to increase the planting index from twice a year to three times a year. This effort includes repairing irrigation networks and installing 70 kilometers of pumps to maintain rice production during the dry season. The increased production from these areas is estimated to be worth Rp136 billion.