Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Agriculture Ministry has distributed production equipment and agricultural machinery assistance to farmers in West Lombok district, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province, to mitigate the impact of El Nino.Director for agricultural irrigation at the Directorate General for Agricultural Infrastructure and Facilities at the ministry, Rahmanto, said that his party has provided four-wheeled tractors, two-wheeled tractors, transplanters, and water pumps to farmers in Kebon Ayu village, Gerung sub-district. The El Nino phenomenon, which has been forecast for July 2023, is expected to trigger a long drought and thereby, lead to a fall in agricultural production, he noted, according to a written statement received on Thursday. Hence, his party has also helped the local community to establish a 700-cubic-meter agricultural pond to maintain water availability in the region as well as improve three tertiary irrigation networks for channeling the water from the pond to agricultural land. The ministry will also build five agricultural roads in the village to help the farmers transport their produce, thereby reducing production costs.
Source: Antara News Agency