Don’t Be Fooled, Here is How to Get Genuine Subsidized Fertilizer

As of April, PT Pupuk Kalimantan (Kaltim) has distributed up to 169,625 tons of subsidized fertilizer. The company, a subsidiary of state-owned enterprises Pupuk Indonesia, is one of the biggest fertilizer producers in Indonesia. They mainly produce the urea and NPK fertilizer and are responsible for the distribution of urea fertilizer in the areas of West Nusa Tenggara, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, and the entire Sulawesi region along with Gorontalo. While their Special Formula subsidized NPK for cocoa covers the entire territory of Indonesia. 

The 169,625 tons of fertilizer distributed by the end of April consist of 166,088 tons of subsidized urea and 3,537 of subsidized NPK. This number makes up 23 percent of the total allocation of subsidized fertilizer distributed by PT Pupuk Kaltim. 

Meanwhile, PT Pupuk Kaltim’s current stock of subsidized fertilizer is 106,326 tons of urea and 4,615 tons of special formula NPK. According to the Director of Finance and General Affairs of PT Pupuk Kaltim Qomaruzzaman, the stocked fertilizer is more than enough to supply the subsidized fertilizer needed for the weeks to come. 

“This amount has reached 1.8 times exceeding the allocated stock from the Ministry of Agriculture Regulation, which is around 61,455 tons,” said Qomaruzzaman in his statement reported by Bisnis Indonesia. 

Qomaruzzaman also noted that there seems to be an indication of irregularities found in the distribution of subsidized fertilizers. Including sales outside the working area of distributors and kiosks, selling to farmers that are not registered in the Definitive Plan for Group Needs (RDKK), and sales of fertilizer above the Highest Retail Price (HET). 

The regulated price of subsidized fertilizer

The distribution of subsidized fertilizer has always been watched and regulated to ensure that it reaches the targeted group. It includes the criteria of who can receive them, how it is distributed, and most of all the price. 

The pricing of subsidized fertilizer is regulated by the Highest Retail Price (HET) that is determined by the government. Currently, the Highest Retail Price (HET) for subsidized Urea, Sp 36, ZA, NPK, Organic Granules, and liquid granules fertilizer is following the Minister of Agriculture Regulations No. 49 of 2020. The prices are Rp 2,250 per kilogram for Urea fertilizer, Rp 2,500 per kilogram for Sp36 fertilizer, Rp 1,700 per kilogram for ZA fertilizer, Rp 2,300 per kilogram for NPK fertilizer, Rp 800 per kilogram for Organic Granules fertilizer, and Rp 20,000 per liter for Liquid Organic fertilizer.

How to get subsidized fertilizer 

To get subsidized fertilizer, farmers must join a Farmer Group, prepare an Electronic Definitive Plan for Group Needs (E-RDKK), and work on a land of a maximum area of 2 hectares. As regulated in the Minister of Agriculture Regulations No. 49 of 2020, a Farmer Group is a group of farmers formed on the basis of common interest, common conditions of the social, economic, and resource environment, common commodities, and familiarity to improve and develop the business of its members. While the Definitive Plan for Group Needs (RDKK) is the plan for the need to subsidize fertilizer which is prepared based on the deliberations of the members of the Farmers Group. 

After that, farmers will receive Kartu Tani, a card issued by banks to farmers to be used in subsidized fertilizer redemption transactions through Electronic Data Capture (EDC) machines at authorized retailers. As the distribution of subsidized fertilizer is carefully watched and regulated, there is no other way of doing transactions for receiving subsidized fertilizer other than using the issued Kartu Tani.

Here are the steps of subsidized fertilizer redemption as regulated by Minister of Agriculture Regulations:

Farmers bring Kartu Tani to authorized retailers

The kiosk clerk swiped the farmer’s card into the EDC machine and the farmer enters the PIN as the basis for the transaction

If there is a balance on the Tani Card, the kiosk will deduct the balance directly according to the volume that the farmer has redeemed. Meanwhile, if there is no balance on the Tani Card, the kiosk clerk will deposit the funds paid by the farmer in the Tani Card account to be used in subsidized fertilizer transactions.

Since the lowering of allocation for subsidized fertilizer in the state budget (APBN) earlier this year, there have been a lot of reports of fake fertilizer circulating around that contains roof tile and other harmful ingredients. It is why it is so important to go to an authorized kiosk and not be swayed by the lure of cheaper but unauthorized sellers. The government, along with fertilizer producers like PT Pupuk Kaltim has been tightening up the distribution of subsidized fertilizers, ensuring that the targeted group receives the real fertilizer without any disruptions. 

_{Written by: Safaanah}