Fajar Pebrianto, Jakarta – Statistics Indonesia (BPS) noted that the country's rice harvest areas continued to decline in the last two years. In 2020, they were recorded at 10.66 million hectares, down by 0.19 percent year on year (yoy).
This year, the rice harvest areas were predicted to reach 10.52 million hectares, dropping by 1.33 percent yoy. Despite the decrease, BPS recorded that rice production had grown. "There is a hike in rice production in 2021," said BPS Head Margo Yuwono at a press conference on Friday, October 15.
In 2020, one hectare of paddy fields could only produce 51.28 quintals of rice. In 2021, the figure increased to 52.56 quintals. Thus, this year's rice production was predicted to reach 55.27 million tons, increasing by 1.14 percent yoy. The growth will be higher than last 2020 at 0.08 percent yoy.
The rice production hike was recorded in temporary data collected by BPS in collaboration with a number of related ministries. This year, the harvest season shifted to April from last year's March.
From January to September 2021, the rice harvest areas amounted to 8.77 million hectares, down by 2.64 percent yoy. In the same period last year, the figure stood at 45.61 million tons, growing by 0.14 percent.