Makassar, May 27, 2024 – To support the increase in agricultural productivity affected by flooding in South Sulawesi Province (Sulsel), PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) is sending 294,280 tons of NPK Phonska Plus fertilizer, worth IDR 2.53 billion, to seven regencies in Sulsel. The aid was symbolically dispatched directly by the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia, Amran Sulaiman, from the South Sulawesi Governor's Office in Makassar on Monday (May 27, 2024).

"As a state-owned enterprise, Pupuk Indonesia's presence must be felt by the community, not only by producing quality products in its business operations. This aid represents one of Pupuk Indonesia's commitments to maintaining national food security," said Tri Wahyudi Saleh, Director of Marketing at Pupuk Indonesia.

The hundreds of thousands of tons of Phonska Plus fertilizer are being sent to agriculture in Wajo Regency (131,000 tons), Bone (53,000 tons), Luwu (42,000 tons), Pinrang (32,000 tons), Sidrap (31,000 tons), Enrekang (4,000 tons), and Sinjai Regency (1,280 tons). This fertilizer is intended for thousands of hectares of farmland in Sulsel that were flooded. According to the Sulsel Plant, Horticulture, and Plantation Office (TPH-Bun), there are areas of corn, rice, and chili that were submerged by the floods. Specifically for rice, the submerged land area totals 7,221 hectares.

The Phonska Plus aid is expected to boost the productivity of flood-affected lands. Phonska Plus contains N, P, and K each at 15-15-15, enriched with Sulfur and Zinc. Based on applications in various fields across Indonesia, this commercial retail fertilizer has been proven to increase agricultural productivity.

Tri Wahyudi added that, in addition to providing aid, Pupuk Indonesia is also maintaining the availability or stock of subsidized fertilizer in Sulsel. As of May 24, 2024, the stock of subsidized fertilizer in Sulsel reached 93,262 tons or 128 percent of the minimum requirement set by the government, which is 72,932 tons. The stock consists of 51,227 tons of Urea fertilizer, 38,528 tons of NPK, and 3,507 tons of NPK Cocoa.

"These stocks are already at Level II (provincial level) and Level III (regency/city level). We hope these stocks can be optimized by farmers so that agricultural productivity in Sulsel can be maintained," he said.

Meanwhile, the realization of subsidized fertilizer redemption in Sulsel until May 2024 is 201,448 tons or 23.2 percent of the allocation prepared by the government for 2024, which is 869,355 tons. The allocation has been increased by more than double by the government, approximately 208 percent from the initial allocation of only 417,637 tons.

"The government has provided this stock increase nationally. The initial allocation of subsidized fertilizer for 2024 was 4.7 million tons, which has been increased to 9.55 million tons. The government has also included organic fertilizer in the subsidy scheme, in addition to Urea, NPK, and NPK Cocoa which have been subsidized from the beginning," he emphasized.

To support the smooth distribution of subsidized fertilizer in Sulsel, Pupuk Indonesia has prepared several facilities. These include 53 distributors, 1,105 kiosks, and 42 Level III warehouses. Pupuk Indonesia has also prepared 30 field officers who will ensure that subsidized fertilizer is distributed according to regulations.

According to Minister of Agriculture Regulation (Permentan) No. 1 of 2024, farmers eligible for subsidized fertilizer must be part of a Farmers Group and registered in the electronic definitive group needs plan (e-RDKK). This subsidized fertilizer is intended for farmers engaged in the cultivation of nine commodities: food crops (rice, corn, soybeans), horticultural crops (chili, shallots, garlic), and plantation crops (sugarcane, cocoa, coffee).

For these types of farming activities, the criteria set a maximum land area of 2 hectares according to the applicable regulations. Under the new rules, the e-RDKK can be evaluated every four months within the current year. This means that farmers who have not yet received an allocation can input their data during the registration process in coordination with local extension officers.

"With the increased allocation, Pupuk Indonesia ensures that the distribution of subsidized fertilizer is targeted accurately, as it uses the i-Pubers application, which is already implemented in 27,000 official kiosks. The redemption process has also been simplified. Registered recipients of subsidized fertilizer only need to bring their ID card (KTP) when redeeming," he concluded.