Indonesia's Tertiary Irrigation Maintenance Completes 6,861 Sites, Physical Progress Reaches 76%

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 7, Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture announced the progress of operation and maintenance of the national tertiary irrigation network, with the current physical completion rate reaching 76%, meaning 6,861 of the annual target of 9,000 sites have completed operation and maintenance work. The related work is being carried out by the Directorate General of Agricultural Land and Irrigation under the Ministry of Agriculture, covering tertiary irrigation facility operation and maintenance projects implemented at both regional and central levels.

The Ministry of Agriculture's current round of tertiary irrigation maintenance includes repair of terminal channels, restoration of water conveyance conditions, and supporting works connecting to farmland irrigation. At the Tertiary Irrigation Operation and Maintenance Coordination and Evaluation Meeting held in Bandung on September 3, the Head of the Agricultural Irrigation Directorate, Liferdi Lukman, confirmed that the physical progress of both regional and central projects nationwide has been consolidated at 76%.

The Ministry of Agriculture is simultaneously advancing the construction of surface water and groundwater irrigation facilities. Surface water utilization includes tertiary channel repair, piped irrigation, and pumping facilities; areas with insufficient surface water are being equipped with tube wells and groundwater irrigation networks. The Ministry is also advancing the construction of water storage facilities, irrigation pipeline networks, and groundwater facilities.

According to the monitoring platform of the Directorate General of Agricultural Land and Irrigation under the Ministry of Agriculture, the annual target for tertiary irrigation projects in 2026 is 9,000 sites, planned to serve 270,000 hectares of farmland; the annual target for pump irrigation projects is 17,400 sites, planned to serve 609,000 hectares; the annual target for piped irrigation projects is 3,500 sites, planned to serve 87,500 hectares; and the annual target for soil and water conservation structures is 3,700 sites, planned to serve 111,000 hectares. Update times vary across different monitoring scopes; the latest physical progress for tertiary irrigation cited in the Ministry of Agriculture's September 7 press release is 6,861 sites, or 76%.

Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman has called for continued identification of farmland with water source availability both on Java and outside Java, and for the deployment of water pumps. The Ministry plans to increase some rice fields currently cultivated twice a year to three times a year. Key areas identified by the Ministry as at risk of water scarcity include East Java, Central Java, East Nusa Tenggara, and South Sulawesi.

For the tertiary irrigation network, the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for the terminal farmland irrigation component, while Indonesia's Ministry of Public Works is responsible for primary and secondary channels. The two ministries are advancing irrigation infrastructure rehabilitation in accordance with Presidential Instruction No. 2 of 2025. The Ministry of Agriculture is also participating in some river dredging operations, providing fuel support for construction machinery.

The Ministry of Agriculture previously deployed approximately 100,000 water pumps cumulatively during the drought response periods of 2015 and 2023, with official statistics corresponding to approximately 2.8 million tons of additional rice production in the Java region. In 2026, tertiary irrigation maintenance, pump irrigation, piped irrigation, and groundwater facilities will continue to be implemented in accordance with the annual plan.