The Regent of Indragiri Hilir (Inhil) Regency, HM Wardan was asked to be one of the speakers in the national dialogue on coconut hosted by the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia to coincide with the commemoration of the 2021 National Awakening Day (Harkitnas) on Thursday, 20 May 2021 at Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan, Jakarta.
In the National Dialogue which can be attended virtually by the participants, the Regent of Indragiri Hilir Regency, HM Wardan was trusted as a speaker with the Director of the International Coconut Community (ICC), Ir Jelfina C. Alouw, MSc PhD, Deputy Regent of Tanjung Jabung Barat, Hairan SH and Friends of Indonesian Coconut, Ardi Simpala, STP MSc.
The national dialogue with the theme “Building Coconut Literacy: Restoring Indonesian Coconuts at the Momentum of the National Awakening Day” was guided directly by the Head of the National Library of Indonesia, Drs M Syarif Bando, MM.
The Regent of Indragiri Hilir, HM Wardan expressed his gratitude for the trust given to be a speaker at the event.
Through this opportunity, said the Regent, he was able to introduce the potential of coconut in Indragiri Hilir Regency and make national dialogue a means of developing coconut literacy.
“Alhamdulillah, the National Library gives extraordinary attention to the development of Indragiri Hilir coconut as part of an integrated effort to improve national food security,” explained the Regent after the event.
In addition, the Regent also appreciated the collaboration between the Indragiri Hilir Regency Government and the National Library so far. With this collaboration, said the Regent, Indragiri Hilir Regency obtained a 6-storey library building from the National Library.
“On the 3rd floor, the library will focus on specific literature on coconut. Hopefully, this literacy development can encourage people to read more actively,” said the Regent.
In the national dialogue at that time, the Regent of Indragiri Hilir, HM Wardan explained a number of things related to coconut Indragiri Hilir, ranging from history to the downstreaming of coconut by the industry.
The Regent said that there are 389,037 hectares of coconut plantations in Indragiri Hilir Regency, consisting of 340,773 hectares of community coconut plantations and 48,264 privately owned plantations. The area of coconut land in Indragiri Hilir Regency is equivalent to 11.39 percent of the national coconut land area.
A number of problems are often encountered by coconut farmers in Indragiri Hilir Regency, including the condition of old coconut plantations, low productivity, pest attacks and price fluctuations.
In order to overcome this problem, a series of efforts to maintain the existence of coconuts in Indragiri Hilir Regency have also been taken, for example through countermeasures, garden rejuvenation, improvement of the trio of water systems, research on superior seeds, improvement of downstream aspects and integrated pest management.
Furthermore, the Regent stated, in addition to problems and solutions, in Indragiri Hilir coconut there is also innovation and diversification of derivative products by downstreaming through the coconut processing industry sector.
The Regent concluded that there are at least 5 main steps that need to be considered in an effort to save Indonesian coconuts, namely the ability of farmers, quick handling, building coconut literacy, strengthening cooperation and product diversification.
(Adv/Diskominfops Inhil)
