President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says Indonesia is expecting El Nino to hit its eastern regions by the end of the year and that the government has been preparing anticipative measures to tackle the impacts of the periodic but anomalous climatic phenomenon.
Speaking after a limited Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office on Thursday afternoon, Yudhoyono said El Nino was predicted to hit the country by the end of the year and or early next year.
“Today I met with ministers and state officials in charge of the issue and discussed El Nino’s possible impacts on our food supply and resilience,” Yudhoyono told the press.
He said the government, through the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), would continually monitor the development of El Nino, and was ready with several measures to secure food supplies if the warm ocean current attacked.
The measures include advancing the planting period and developing drought-resistent paddy seeds, and ensuring that dams and irrigation systems across the country function well.
“And if El Nino indeed strikes, we have marshes that, once dried up, can be used as paddy fields,” said the President, who has a PhD in Agricultural Economics.
He said wetlands that could be potentially used as paddy fields during dry season amounted to 1.8 million hectares; spreading across Lampung, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and Central Kalimantan.
“I have seen examples how these drying wetlands are used as paddy fields in the regions.”
He said he had also ordered Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono to dispatch agriculture extension workers to accompany and provide counseling services for farmers during the expected hard times.
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