Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Proposes Additional Budget of IDR 6.23 Trillion to Counter El Nino 2027

The Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has proposed an additional budget of IDR 6.23 trillion for the 2027 budget to prioritize sustainable forest management, improve the well-being of communities, and prepare for the four-year El Nino cycle.

Vice Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Rohmat Marzuki said at a meeting with the Commission IV of the House of Representatives in Jakarta that the additional budget was prepared based on the fulfillment of forest development needs, taking into account legislative inputs.

The proposed additional budget will prioritize several key areas, including the prevention and control of forest fires to be used for infrastructure renewal, joint patrols with the Fire-Prone Community, and operational modification of the weather to anticipate the predicted El Nino cycle in 2027.

Another major priority is allocated for institutional strengthening in the region, covering the operationalization of 35 central units for forest ecosystem development and funding for the recruitment and staffing of 21,000 additional Forest Police personnel.

Regarding the hiring of tens of thousands of additional Forest Police personnel, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is currently in the process of finalizing discussions with the Ministry of State Apparatus Utilization and Bureaucratic Reform (PAN-RB).

In addition, to support poverty reduction programs, the ministry has committed to increasing community-based allocations through the distribution of productive economic tools in forest areas.

Furthermore, the optimization of forest management will be carried out through the acquisition of advanced aircraft and monitoring equipment to tighten monitoring and periodic scrutiny of land cover.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry also proposed additional funding for the management of Way Kambas National Park and Tesson Nilo, upgrading tourism infrastructure, and speeding up the designation of indigenous forests, with a target of reaching 1.4 million hectares by 2029.