February 22, 2026 | 08:26 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The rice fields in Meurah Dua District, Pidie Jaya Regency, Aceh, which are reportedly submerged in mud as a result of flooding, were personally inspected by Indonesian Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian.
About 1,500 hectares of community-owned rice fields were badly damaged by the heavy mud, according to Tito, who is also the Head of the Task Force for the Acceleration of Post-Disaster Rehabilitation and Reconstruction for the Sumatra Region. In certain places, the muck was between fifty centimeters and one meter thick. There was also mild to moderate damage to thousands of additional hectares of land.
Tito stated that Pidie Jaya Regency is one of the region's food barns, with a total agricultural area of approximately 8,800 hectares. Therefore, the land damage has the potential to reduce rice production if not addressed immediately.
"This is a great shame for the people, and our rice production could also be reduced," Tito said in an official statement on Saturday, February 21, 2026.
Tito hopes the Ministry of Agriculture will immediately address this situation. According to him, accelerating land rehabilitation is crucial so that mud-covered rice fields can be used again for planting.
"Hopefully, the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Amran Sulaiman, will immediately address the condition of the land so it can be productive again," he said.
The Ministry of Agriculture has allocated a budget of around Rp336 billion to accelerate the rehabilitation of flood-affected rice fields in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.
"The budget will be used to restore rice fields with light to moderate damage so they can quickly return to production and maintain regional food supplies," said Hermanto, Director General of Agricultural Land and Irrigation at the Ministry of Agriculture, as quoted by Antara on Monday, February 16, 2026.
Hermanto said the program is a follow-up to the rehabilitation program that began simultaneously on January 15, 2026.
Read: Indonesia Allocates Rp336 Billion for Rice Field Rehabilitation in Sumatra
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