Jakarta, IDNtribune.com – The Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo (Mentan SYL) invites his staff have a grateful heart during the 51st Krida Agriculture Day or HKP in 2023. According to SYL,the performance of the agricultural sector has been quite satisfactory so far. Considering how Indonesia has managed to dodge various threats to the global crisis in the last four years, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic and the continous climate change.

“How long are we all going to keep importing when the harvest currently is abundant and productivity is at it’s highest in 77 years? Sure there are reasons that we can accept, but we should also buy domestic-made agriculture products aside from our existing imports.” stated the Minister of Agriculture SYL.

On the other hand, SYL stated how agricultural productivity is quite high where the country has won FAO and IRRI awards in the last three years . From this, SYL hopes that there will be no imports in the future as loca farmers are now capable on contributing to domestic production.

“Have you heard of people starving during Covid? data from BPS said the agricultural sector rose to 16.42 percent. So once again I don’t like people who import and mess with our farmers,” he said.

The Minister of Agriculture added that this year’s Agricultural Krida day turned out to be very different from the previous year’s Krida day. Therefore SYL invites employees and the public to be grateful as the agricultural sector has proven that together it can rise because food security can be maintained properly in 3 years.

“That’s why I’m disappointed with imports. Our level of productivity is high, so why should we import,” said SYL while leading the Agriculture Krida Day ceremony at the Ministry of Agriculture’s headquarters, Wednesday (21/6/2023).

For SYL, Agriculture is the most strategic sector in increasing added value for both rural and urban communities. Agriculture can become a driving force for the growth and development of the national economy. This was proven as agriculture was able to grow by 16.42 percent while other sectors were slumped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I emphasize that at the Ministry of Agriculture we all comply with 3 things, namely complying with SOPs, not acting against the law, and no corruption in agriculture. That’s been my order all along,” he said.

Ministry of Agriculture employee from the Public Relations and Public Information Bureau, Helmi Naibaho said he was proud of the performance of the agricultural sector under the leadership of Syahrul Yasin Limpo. He wants this pride to be the main trigger in improving the ministry’s performance in the coming year.

“During 20 years in the Ministry of Agriculture I am very proud because these are extraordinary moments on Krida Day when we see our farmers getting more and more prosperous. And as civil servants, we must have the courage to prioritize the advancement of agriculture,” he explained. ***