Indonesia boosts irrigation and fertilizer stocks against El Nino risk
Indonesia is expanding irrigation works and building fertilizer stocks to shield rice output from possible El Nino drought and support a 1 million ton production increase in 2026.
Indonesia is stepping up its drought-preparedness measures as the government braces for possible El Nino pressure on rice production. According to ANTARA, the response combines expanded irrigation infrastructure, water-conservation works and larger field stocks of subsidized fertilizer so that the country can both defend its 2025 production gains and pursue a further increase of 1 million metric tons of rice output in 2026.
Dhani Gartina, secretary at the Directorate General of Agricultural Land and Irrigation in the Agriculture Ministry, said the strategy is built around land intensification and expansion while prolonged dry conditions are expected to affect several farming regions. In practice, that means water supply has moved to the center of the country’s food-security planning, with the agriculture ministry coordinating closely with the Directorate General of Water Resources at the Ministry of Public Works.
The infrastructure package is broad. It includes rehabilitation of tertiary irrigation networks, construction of pumping and pipeline irrigation systems, reservoirs, check dams and the development of alternative water sources. The focus is especially important for rain-fed rice fields that are normally planted only once a year. The government wants improved irrigation reliability to raise cropping intensity so that one-cycle land can move to two crops and areas already planted twice can, where possible, be pushed toward three cycles.
For 2026, Indonesia plans to build about 15,000 pumping irrigation units, 3,000 pipeline irrigation units and 3,000 water-conservation structures in major rice-producing and drought-prone areas. The ministry is also mapping groundwater basins, surface-water resources, irrigated farmland and drought-vulnerable zones so that support can be directed to the places that need it most. ANTARA says the broader response mixes anticipation, adaptation and mitigation measures, from planting-season planning and drought-tolerant rice varieties to insurance and production-risk management.
Fertilizer availability is the second pillar of the plan. State producer PT Pupuk Indonesia said it is ready to meet the government’s 2026 subsidized fertilizer allocation of 9.5 million metric tons, including 4.45 million tons of urea, 4.5 million tons of NPK, 500,000 tons of ZA and organic fertilizer. The company said it has annual production capacity of 8.8 million tons of urea, 4.6 million tons of NPK and roughly 1.5 million tons of other fertilizer products.
Distribution and stock data suggest the company is already positioning inventories ahead of a drier season. By May 31, subsidized fertilizer distribution had reached around 4 million tons, equal to 45.17% of contracted volumes and about 41% of the official allocation. As of June 8, total fertilizer stocks stood at 1.17 million tons, made up of 836,000 tons of subsidized product and 338,000 tons of non-subsidized fertilizer. Based on average daily redemption of around 37,000 tons, PT Pupuk Indonesia estimates that reserve covers roughly 23 days of demand while continuing production should keep deliveries stable for farmers if El Nino conditions intensify.