Suara.com – Road damage that occurred in many parts of Indonesia cannot be underestimated. The reason is, access to transportation for agricultural products is important to support regional food and of course also the welfare of farmers.
Such is the alarming condition experienced by farmers in Lalembuu District, South Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi (Southeast Sulawesi). Farmers in the region can produce hundreds or even thousands of tons in one harvest. But the harvest was in vain.
The reason is, the access road for the distribution of harvests for farmers in Lalembuu District is badly damaged, As a result, farmers are biting their fingers because the price of rice has fallen. As expressed by farmers in Sumber Jaya Village who stated, they can harvest twice a year. Even if there are no natural obstacles, it can be up to three times.
According to information on the Southeast Sulawesi agri.go.id website, the area of paddy fields in Lalembuu District currently reaches 1,289 hectares. With this land area, farmers have great potential to increase rice production. It is recorded that one hectare of land can produce up to 8 tons of rice.
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Currently, farmers are in the harvest season and they use modern harvesting equipment, such as the Combine Harvester to facilitate the process of collecting rice.
Even though they are successful in producing, farmers have to bite their fingers with the infrastructure constraints they face, namely the condition of damaged roads and potholes.
In the calculations made, the 25 km long road is filled with dust during the dry season and turns into muddy puddles when the rainy season arrives.
“We are very excited to see the abundant rice yields in our fields. However, the main obstacle we face is the damaged condition of provincial roads,” said a farmer in Lalembuu District, Ahmad Parjo as quoted by Telisik.id-jaringan Suara.com on Sunday (21/5/2023).
The damaged road conditions also impacted the price of rice. They are forced to sell the rice they harvest from their own fields at low prices due to difficulties in distributing it efficiently and often incur significant financial losses.
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Even though they are overshadowed by difficulties due to damaged road access, the people in Lalembuu District remain united in carrying out the grain drying process.
“We are proud to be able to help the farmers around us by drying their grain at our house. Even though the roads are damaged, we remain united and work together to ensure that their crops can be processed properly,” said Sumber Jaya village resident Budi Amir.
In addition to the abundant rice harvest, the area can become a tourist destination because of the stunning views of the rice fields. This natural beauty attracts visitors who are coming to this area for the first time.
Seeing the beauty of the rice fields and abundant rice yields, Lalembuu District has the potential to develop agricultural tourism. Tourists can visit villages around this sub-district to see first-hand the process of harvesting rice, participate in agricultural activities, and enjoy the calming beauty of nature.
