Welcoming the Asa of Batang Hari Resilient through a Quality Agricultural Sector

Geographically, Batang Hari Regency is located in the central part of Jambi Province which connects Jambi City and regencies in eastern Jambi Province with regencies/cities in western Jambi Province via the main land transportation route. With an area of ​​5,804.83 km2, the largest land use in Batang Hari Regency is used for the agricultural sector, which is 5,202.77 km2 or about 89.63 percent of the total area of ​​Batang Hari Regency. The amount of land use for agriculture is directly proportional to the main livelihood of the population of Batang Hari Regency, most of whom work in the agricultural sector. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded that the population of Batang Hari Regency in mid-2021 was 306.72 thousand people, of which 69.72 percent were of productive age. Furthermore, the results of the 2021 National Labor Force Survey (Sakernas) show that the total working population in Batang Hari Regency is 132.61 thousand people, with the proportion of the population working in the agricultural sector is 52.32 percent, or more than half of the working population is in the agricultural sector. Agriculture. The economic structure of Batang Hari Regency in 2021 can be seen from the formation of Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) by business field. Data released by the Batang Hari Regency BPS on the Batangharikab@bps.go.id page shows that the largest role in the economic structure of Batang Hari Regency is derived from the agricultural sector, which is 43.51 percent. The next four dominant sectors are the manufacturing sector (11.62 percent), the mining and quarrying sector (9.94 percent), the wholesale and retail trade sector (8.77 percent), and the construction sector (6.12 percent). ). The large influence of the agricultural sector on employment and the economy requires full attention, especially from the local government to maintain the performance of the agricultural sector so that it can continue to have a positive impact on the economy and expand the workforce.

In an effort to realize the Batang Hari Tangguh vision, where one of its missions is to strengthen economic resilience based on agricultural competitiveness and agro-tourism to improve sustainable community welfare, the Regional Government of Batang Hari Regency has launched various programs aimed at optimizing agricultural potential, including the Program Resilient Extension and Partnership Program for People's Palm Oil Rejuvenation.

The 2023 Agricultural Census (ST2023) which will be carried out by BPS next year is expected to be able to provide a comprehensive picture of the state of agriculture in Batang Hari Regency, so that the results can be used as the basis for new programs and policies for sustainable agriculture. Finally, hopefully the programs and policies rolled out by the Batang Hari Regency Government can continue to maintain and improve the performance of the Agricultural sector which will ultimately be able to prosper the farmers in Batang Hari Regency.