ACEH, thekabarnews.com—An Aceh economist has sharply criticized the provincial administration’s response to claims about large-scale agricultural recovery funding. He is asking for greater transparency as thousands of hectares of disaster-damaged farmland remain unrestored.

Dr. Taufik A. Rahim, an economist and academic at Universitas Muhammadiyah Aceh, questioned why farmers had yet to experience substantial improvements. Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman discussed roughly Rp1.6 trillion in post-disaster agricultural assistance.

“If the government has indeed allocated Rp1.6 trillion in assistance, why are agricultural land and rice fields in Aceh still in such a concerning condition? Farmers remain trapped in poverty, large areas have not recovered, and communities have yet to feel any visible impact from the assistance,” Taufik said on Friday, August 7.

Taufik said Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf (Mualem) should have immediately clarified the funding status. This was necessary if the provincial government had different figures or facts.

“The governor’s silence when the agriculture minister made that statement is deeply embarrassing for Aceh. A leader should be able to explain the condition of the region when a statement has the potential to create a false public perception,” he said.

His criticism comes amid extensive damage caused by the late-2025 hydrometeorological disaster. Aceh government data show that 57,485 hectares of rice fields suffered damage. This included 16,276 hectares classified as severely damaged and 120 hectares reported lost.

By July, authorities had begun or prepared recovery and land-optimization work across 40,852 hectares, while about 16,633 hectares still awaited treatment. The disaster also affected 60,438 hectares of plantation land, according to the Aceh provincial administration.

The available official figures require careful distinction. The Agriculture Ministry’s statements earlier in 2026 referred to approximately Rp1.49 trillion prepared for recovery programs across Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra. This amount was not exclusively for Aceh.

In July, Amran said the ministry had redirected Rp1.7 trillion from its budget to accelerate recovery in disaster-affected areas.

For Aceh specifically, provincial officials said first-stage Agriculture Ministry assistance totaled Rp380 billion. The amount increased to Rp515 billion in the second stage.

They reported that the combined financial realization of the province’s recovery programs had reached 48.48 percent as of July 21. This coverage covered land repair, irrigation systems, farm roads and other supporting infrastructure, according to ANTARA.

The Aceh government has maintained that recovery is progressing in phases because damage levels and technical requirements vary between locations.

Governor Manaf has also directed agricultural agencies across the province to accelerate implementation and coordinate with central and district authorities.

Taufik nevertheless urged the government to measure its budget announcements against concrete results for farmers.

He called for a transparent breakdown of allocations, distributions, beneficiaries, completed projects and remaining work.

For affected communities, he said, the central issue is not the size of the announced budget. The government must restore damaged farming land, irrigation networks and agricultural incomes in time for farmers to resume production.