Petrokimia Gresik Ensures Readiness for Planting Season and Supports Local Communities

Petrokimia Gresik, a leading Agroindustry Solutions company and a member of the Pupuk Indonesia group, is actively involved in warehouse visits, distributors, kiosks, and farmers in several regions in Indonesia to welcome the October-March planting season. The first visit was conducted by Digna Jatiningsih, Director of Operations and Production at Petrokimia Gresik, in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) from October 3 to 6, 2023.

In NTT, Digna assessed the company's readiness for the upcoming planting season. Additionally, she directly engaged with local farmers as part of the company's effort to listen to the aspirations of farmers.

"The conditions in NTT are different from other regions. The redemption of subsidized fertilizers here is still not optimal. Until August 2023, only 39 percent of farmers had redeemed subsidized NPK Phonska fertilizer. The drought since April last year is one of the reasons. Therefore, there must be a solution to the drought, predicted to last until December," Digna added.

In an effort to find a solution to this issue, Digna also met with the local Department of Agriculture. "Certainly, the issue of drought has been the focus of many parties, including Petrokimia Gresik and the Provincial Department of Agriculture in NTT," she said.

In front of the farmers, she provided agricultural education for optimal harvest results. This included balanced fertilization, Soil Testing Unit services, and the introduction of new and non-subsidized products from Petrokimia Gresik.

"To make it easier for farmers to understand, Petrokimia Gresik's education is also conducted through demonstration plots in two land points in Waturaka Village, Kelimutu District, Ende Regency. In addition, farmers attending the socialization received one bag of NPK Phonska Plus so that they could directly see the quality of Petrokimia Gresik's non-subsidized fertilizer," she said.

Moreover, Petrokimia Gresik also reiterated the rules for the redemption of subsidized fertilizers according to regulations. Only farmers registered as recipients of subsidized fertilizers can redeem them, ensuring that their harvest results are maximized.

Meanwhile, Digna added that as of October 2, 2023, Petrokimia Gresik had nationally prepared a stock of subsidized fertilizers totaling 446,773 tons, distributed to Line III warehouses (district/city). This stock consists of urea fertilizer totaling 108,649 tons, equivalent to 340 percent or more than three times the minimum requirement set by the Government, which is 31,918 tons.

Next is the stock of NPK Phonska fertilizer amounting to 338,124 tons, or 318 percent of the Government's stipulation of 104,873 tons. The stocks of urea and NPK are safe for the next three weeks.

As for farmers who are not registered as recipients of subsidized fertilizers, or their subsidized fertilizer quotas have not fulfilled the needs of their land, Petrokimia Gresik also prepared a stock of non-subsidized fertilizers totaling 36,867 tons. This stock consists of 4,334 tons of urea and 32,533 tons of NPK, which have proven to increase agricultural productivity.

Lastly, during her visit to NTT, Digna also distributed Petrokimia Gresik's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) assistance to the Syuradikara Ende Catholic High School. The funds were provided for the construction of an agricultural reading park, or Taman Sastra Kune Bara Syuradikara.

"To the students, we also provide education to encourage them to directly engage in agriculture. Of course, this aims to stimulate the regeneration of farmers, which is still a challenge for all of us," concluded Digna.

After NTT, Petrokimia Gresik also plans to visit other regions in Indonesia, such as North Sulawesi and Gorontalo, to assess readiness for the October-March planting season in support of the government's efforts to maintain national food security.