JAYAPURA – The Papua Provincial Government is preparing a development roadmap that will be in line with the Regional Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMD). The roadmap will focus on three main sectors, namely agriculture, marine, and tourism.

Acting Governor of Papua, Ramses Limbong, said that in the agricultural sector, three districts are the main priority, namely Sarmi Regency, Jayapura Regency, and Keerom Regency.

"We are preparing a roadmap. We want to see what is suitable for development in each region and what steps must be taken," said Ramses in Jayapura, Wednesday (12/2).

However, Ramses admitted that there were obstacles to opening new agricultural land. One of the main obstacles is the problem of land acquisition and licensing. To overcome this, the government will optimize existing agricultural land.

"Therefore, we intensify the existing agricultural land so that it can be used optimally," he added.

As part of food security efforts, Ramses also launched a movement to plant productive crops in the government office environment. The government has distributed chili seeds to the Regional Apparatus Work Unit to use polybags in their respective work environments.

"We give chili seeds so that they can be used at least for the needs of civil servants in the Regional Apparatus Work Unit environment. Later, this movement can be transmitted to the community to reduce dependence on external supply and suppress inflation due to the increase in chili prices," explained Ramses.

Furthermore, Ramses emphasized that this roadmap will lead Papua towards food self-sufficiency, starting from the village level, district, to the provincial scale.

"We want Papua to be able to achieve independent food security. This step starts from the village level, then develops to the provincial level," he concluded.  ***