Drought Expands and Begins to Impact Agriculture

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Chairman of the General Contact of Andalan Fishermen Farmers (KTNA) Mohammad Yadi Sofyan Noor said a number of agricultural areas are beginning to be affected by drought as the intensity of the dry season increases. The region is spread over West Java, Central Java, to South Kalimantan.

In West Java, the areas that started to be affected were in Indramayu and Subang districts. While in Central Java, Purworejo Regency is still relatively safe due to supported technical irrigation system and availability of water sources. As for South Kalimantan, the areas that began to be affected include Banjar Regency, Tanah Laut, and Tanah Bumbu Pagatan.

“To deal with the effects of drought, KTNA has become accustomed to adapting. If there is still a water source, then we use the water pump machine that is already available,” Sofyan told Republika, Monday (20/7/2026).

According to him, when water resources begin to be limited, farmers use deep wells as an alternative. If the water source completely dries up, the water needs are met using a tank car in moderation. This measure is done to keep the plants supplied with water in the middle of the dry season.

The Ministry of Agriculture (Ministry of Agriculture) previously disclosed various mitigation measures that the government has prepared to deal with the potential drought due to the dry season and the threat of El Nino. Deputy Agriculture Minister (Wamentan) Sudaryono said the strategy was in place to keep national food production maintained.

According to him, mitigation is carried out through early warning information systems (SI-perditan), strengthening of water infrastructure, pompanization, rehabilitation of irrigation networks, provision of drought-resistant seeds, up to intensive coordination with ministries, agencies, and local governments.

“The data shows that the mitigation efforts we are undertaking are effective. The area affected by El Nino until July 2026 is about 12,000 hectares, much lower than in 2015, which reached about 217,000 hectares. This means that the preparedness of the government is getting stronger and the national food production can still be maintained,” Sudaryono said at a working meeting with Commission IV of the DPR RI in Jakarta, a few days ago.

In order to strengthen the preparedness for the dry season, Kementan also accelerated the provision of agricultural tools and machinery (alsintan), such as water pumps, tractors, rice transplanters, and various other means of support so that agricultural land productivity remains optimal in different regions.

Sudaryono said the mitigation measures were aimed at suppressing the risk of crop failures while maintaining land productivity amid the threat of climate change. The government will continue to strengthen preparedness so that national food security is maintained and food self-sufficiency targets can be achieved.