REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SIDOARJO -- Farmland cover affected by drought continues to decline in line with the government's efforts to provide farmers with water pumps, according to Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman.

"In the January-July 2014 period, the acreage of drought-affected farmlands in Indonesia was some 200 thousand hectares, while in the same period this year, the affected land cover dropped to 110 thousand hectares," the minister said here on Thursday.

He added that with the water pumps they have been provided, farmers can tackle the problems they face due to the ongoing dry spell.

"Today, we provided 40 units of pumps to farmers in Sidarjo district. If they are inadequate, we will give them more and increase their capacity before drought-related issues in the district have serious impacts," Sulaiman stated.

He pointed out that besides providing water pumps, the government is also developing irrigation networks. "So far, the government has developed 1.3 million water channels across the country."

With regard to the rice fields that had crop failure, the minister revealed that they accounted for only 8,000 hectares, a decline from the 35,000 hectares that were affected in the same period last year.

"This indicates that our drought forecast for Indonesia was correct and that we took the right anticipatory measures since the beginning," Sulaiman asserted.

From October to March, rice plantation cover increased by 400 thousand hectares.

"This means that if a serious drought affects 150 thousand hectares of rice fields, we will still have 250 thousand hectares left," he remarked.

Sulaiman further noted the total rice field cover affected by drought in the October 2014 to July 2015 period dropped by 102 thousand hectares as compared to that recorded in the same period last year.

In the October 2013 to July 2014 period, 159 thousand hectares of rice fields were affected by drought across the country, while in the same period this year, only 57 thousand hectares were affected.

"So we managed to save 102 thousand hectares of rice fields from drought," he affirmed.

If one hectare of rice field could produce five tons of paddy, the ministry successfully saved 500 thousand tons of paddy worth Rp2 trillion, he remarked.

Moreover, to deal with the drought, the ministry has distributed a total of 82,000 water pumps to farmers throughout the country.

Some 198 thousand hectares of land across Indonesia is hit with drought every year.

In addition, the government has forecast that the drought most likely triggered by the El Nino phenomenon will last till November this year.

"Several precautionary measures have been implemented in accordance with the conditions in regions that are likely to be affected by drought," Director General of Water Resources of the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry Mudjiadi noted in a press statement here on Tuesday.

The ministry will check the irrigation systems and impose water rationalization if necessary, he stated.

Water from the dams will be prioritized for drinking, irrigation, and industries, Mudjiadi affirmed.

Data revealed that till June 30, five of the 16 dams were experiencing a deficit of water due to the extreme dry season.

The five dams were Keuliling in Aceh, Batutegi in Lampung, Saguling in West Java, Wonogiri in Central Java, and Bening in East Java.

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