Meningkatkan Produksi Padi Menuju Ketahanan Pangan yang Lestari - Suwarno Suwarno (Perum BULOG, 2010)
Beras merupakan bahan makanan pokok bagi penduduk Indonesia, sehingga ketahanan pangan di Indonesia identik dengan swasembada beras. Indonesia berhasil mencapai swasembada beras pada tahun 1984 namun pada tahun 1993 laju peningkatan produksi beras mulai menurun sedangkan permintaan terus meningkat, sehingga sejak 1994 Indonesia kembali mengimport beras. Peningkatan produksi beras di Indonesiaselama ini diperoleh sebagian besar dari peningkatan hasil padi. Saat ini hasil padi di Indonesia telah tinggi, tertinggi di wilayah tropis. Semakin tinggi tingkat hasil, semakin mendekati potensi hasil varietas, semakin sulit meningkatkan lagi, dan semakin besar resiko yang dihadapi berupa serangan hama dan penyakit serta banjir dan kekeringan akibat cuaca yang ekstrim. Oleh sebab itu, peningkatan produksi padi tidak bisa lagimenitikberatkan pada peningkatan hasil, tetapi harus beralih pada perluasan areal pertanaman. Indonesia mempunyai lahan sawah irigasi sangat luas, tetapi rasionya terhadap total luas daratan maupun terhadap jumlah penduduk sangat kecil bila dibandingkan dengan negara-negara lain di Asia. Kondisi tersebut menunjukkan bahwa Indonesia mempunyai potensi besar dan memerlukan perluasan lahan sawah irigasi yang merupakan lingkungan terbaik untuk produksi padi. Selain itu Indonesia juga mempunyai lahan kering dan lahan rawa yang potensial untuk perluasan areal pertanaman padi. Kebutuhan untuk perluasan areal tersebut semakin mendesak manakala swasembada jagung dan kedelai juga ingin dicapai. Perkiraan berdasarkan kesesuaian lahan, tata ruang, dan pemanfaatan bagi tanaman pangan lainnya, Indonesia mempunyai sekitar 9,7 juta ha lahan yang potensial untuk perluasan areal pertanaman padi, terdiri dari 5,3 juta ha, 3,0 juta ha, dan 1,4 juta ha masing-masing potensial untuk lahan sawah, lahan rawa, dan lahan kering. Untuk mewujudkan ketahanan pangan atau swasembada beras yang lestari, selain melanjutkan upaya peningkatan hasil, Indonesia harus memperluas areal pertanaman padi.Rice is the staple food for all Indonesian, thus it is fair to say that food security in Indonesia is identical with rice self sufficiency. In 1984, Indonesia managed to achieve self sufficiency of rice. However, in 1993, the rate of rice production starting to decline while the consumption rate of rice continues to increase, which resulting in Indonesia becomes rice importer country once again since 1994. The increasing rate of rice production in Indonesia is mainly achieved through the increase of rice yield. Currently, the rate of rice yield in Indonesia can be considered high, even the highest rice yield in the tropical region. The higher the yield, the closer it gets to the maximum potential of the varieties. Therefore, it becomes harder to further maximize the results and it also brings consequences towards pests’ vulnerability, diseases, and the varieties durability in facing unfavorable weathers. Considering the factors above, in order to increase rice production, Indonesia should not depend on rice yield and starting to focus on the cultivation area. While Indonesia has a large area of irrigated land, its ratio to the total land area as well as to the total population are very small compared to other Asian countries. These indicated that Indonesia has the potential to increase the size of its cultivation area based on irrigated land, which is the most suitable area for rice production. Another factor to be considered was the fact that Indonesia also possesses large area of upland and swampy land, which also can be converted into potential cultivation area. The need to expand cultivation area becomes important issues especially since the program to achieve self sufficiency for soybean and corn have been launched. Those programs resulted in the shift of cultivation areas for rice to soybean and corn. Based on the land use and land suitability, it is estimated that Indonesia currently have 9.7 million ha land potential for rice cultivation area; consists of 5.3 million ha potential for irrigated lowland rice, 3.0 million ha for swampy rice, and 1.4 million ha for upland rice. To achieve sustainable food security and self-sufficiency of rice production in Indonesia, it is not enough to depend only on rice yield but also supported by expanding the areas for rice cultivation.