RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Member of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR), Daniel Johan, urged all parties not to underestimate the warning signals of a strengthening El Niño. He stated that these signals are not merely scientific warnings, but a real alarm for millions of farmers in Indonesia.

He conveyed the message in response to the warning issued by University of Maryland professor, R. Dwi Susanto, on the next El Niño. Dwi said the phenomenon has the potential to develop into a very strong category in the second half of 2026, with one of the most noticeable impacts being drought and a water crisis.

"The El Niño signal, which has the potential to reach strong to very strong levels in the second half of 2026, is not just a scientific warning. It's a real alarm for millions of our farmers who depend on water availability for their livelihoods," Daniel explained, as quoted by the House's release monitored in Jakarta on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.

Daniel reminded the Indonesian public of the lessons from the 1997–1998 prolonged drought, which resulted in crop failures for Indonesian farmers. Therefore, he hopes that no one ignores the potential warnings of a strengthening El Niño in 2026.

"We don't want a repeat of what happened in the past without adequate preparation," Daniel said.

Furthermore, he urged concrete steps to prevent drought due to warnings of a strengthening El Niño. He said all parties need to prepare drilled wells first in drought-prone agricultural areas.

"Accelerating the construction of reservoirs at the village level with the support of deep wells, and adjusting planting patterns based on BMKG (Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency) forecasts," he said.

Furthermore, Daniel urged the public and the government to anticipate the powerful pests on agriculture during drought. He also emphasized the importance of implementing a national water management system based on climate cycles to address El Niño.

"We should harvest rainwater by preparing reservoirs so that when El Niño occurs, it can be used to minimize drought," he stressed.

Daniel urged all parties to prepare water storage infrastructure integrated with climate data. He emphasized that this could be achieved by leveraging digital technology to manage water more efficiently.

"We have forecasts, we have the technology, (but) what is needed is political will to ensure that rainwater does not flow wasted into the sea, but is stored to irrigate rice fields in the driest months," he said.

Therefore, Daniel affirmed the importance of coordination across ministries and institutions to anticipate the impact of El Niño and prevent it from impacting the country's farmers and the national food sector. Therefore, he hoped it wouldn't have a significant impact on them.