Heru Appreciates 822 Tons of Harvest in East Jakarta

Acting Jakarta Governor, Heru Budi Hartono directly visited harvest day in East Jakarta, Tuesday (4/2).

came to see the harvest in a 1.2 hectare green open space

Today's harvest was centered at RPTRA Payung Tunas Teratai, Cipayung Urban Village, and also simultaneously held at other 64 locations. Heru appreciated the harvest from agriculture, huasbandry, and fishery by 822 tons.

"Today, I came to see the harvest in a 1.2 hectare green open space in Cipayung Urban Village. Total harvest in East Jakarta reached 822 tons. There are corn, eggplant, pagoda mustard greens, pak choy, kale, green mustard greens, peanuts, chilies, cassava, there are also catfish and tilapia, as well as dairy cows that produce milk. The results are very good," he said, as quoted from Jakarta Provincial Government's press release.

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He appreciated the hard efforts of the East Jakarta Mayor and his staff who are driving urban farming amidst limited land. So, it can create independence for residents' food needs, both in the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors, and maintain food security in the East Jakarta area. Acting Governor Heru said that the West Jakarta Administrative City Government would also carry out a big harvest after Eid.

"This harvest is an example for other areas in Jakarta. Hopefully there will be a big harvest in South Jakarta and West Jakarta. Later, in turn, there will be a big harvest. This indicates that people really care about food independence in their respective regions. Residents are willing to try hard to be able to meet their food needs independently," he added.

On that occasion, Acting Governor Heru spoke via teleconference with sub-district heads, urban village heads and residents from a number of areas in East Jakarta, such as Cakung, Ujung Menteng, Duren Sawit, Matraman, Pondok Ranggon, and the Nurul Ilmi Islamic Boarding School (Ponpes) in Munjul Urban Village.

One of the discussions that really caught the attention of Acting Governor Heru was the harvest produced at the Munjul Nurul Ilmi Islamic Boarding School, namely 92 kilograms of pagoda mustard greens and 100 kilograms of lettuce. From the sales of these two types of vegetables, the Islamic boarding school can meet their needs. Not only provides nutritious food for the students, but it can also build facilities and houses of worship.

"This is very interesting and I appreciate it. They can be independent and earn income from selling vegetables they grow themselves. I also thank Bank Indonesia for providing guidance, direction and facilities to this Islamic boarding school," he stated.

The use of land which is a government asset for agricultural cultivation, animal husbandry and fisheries is expected to be one of the efforts to overcome several problems in Jakarta, such as food availability, handling stunting, environmental preservation, securing assets and creating jobs. If the land is arranged neatly and attractively, it can also function as a means of education, tourism and a place for interaction between local residents.

Meanwhile, East Jakarta Mayor, M Anwar, said urban farming must continue to be encouraged in the City of Jakarta's efforts to meet its food needs independently, considering that food needs continue to increase, especially ahead of National Religious Holidays. With independence in food security, Jakarta residents can still have their needs met even though there are obstacles in production center areas.

"Food tenacity will continue to be carried out by the Jakarta Provincial Government, including in East Jakarta which uses land for agriculture, livestock and fisheries in an integrated manner. East Jakarta has a very large area, so it has the potential to develop urban farming from upstream to downstream. Residents' enthusiasm for urban farming is very large, as evidenced by today's harvest which reached 822 tons," he stated.