Govt to open new areas for paddy fields<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government plans to develop two million
\nhectares of new paddy fields outside Java to secure rice supplies
\nfor the country's growing population, a senior government
\nofficial said.<\/p>\n
Director general for facilities and infrastructure at the
\nAgricultural Ministry Ato Suprapto said the ambitious project
\nwould be realized next year, focusing on the provinces of South
\nSumatra, Jambi, Riau, Bengkulu and West Kalimantan,<\/p>\n
\"Opening new areas and maintaining the present agricultural
\nareas are important programs at this moment,\" Ato was quoted as
\nsaying by news agency Antara on Friday.<\/p>\n
Ato quoted data from the Central Statistics Office (BPS)
\nrevealing some one million hectares of paddy fields were
\nconverted into non agricultural areas during the period of 1983
\nto 1993.<\/p>\n
He further quoted the Japan Investment Cooperation Agency
\n(JICA) as saying that an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 hectares of
\nagricultural lands in Java had been converted into housing and
\nindustrial projects.<\/p>\n
Ato warned that without new paddy fields, the country's rice
\noutput would not be able to meet the growing demand of the
\ncountry's 210 million people.<\/p>\n
He said at present Indonesia's annual rice consumption was 135
\nkilogram per capita.<\/p>\n
\"If domestic rice production fails to meet the population's
\ndemand, we may be in danger of becoming the world's largest rice
\nimporter,\" Ato said.<\/p>\n
Government data shows the country imported 3.5 million tons of
\nrice or 10 percent of the domestic demand, from India, Vietnam,
\nThailand, and Myanmar last year.<\/p>\n
He said his ministry would cooperate with the Ministry of
\nSettlement and Regional Development as well as the Ministry of
\nTransmigration and Population in implementing the two million
\nhectare paddy fields project.<\/p>\n
Financing is expected from the World Bank and the Asian
\nDevelopment Bank and donor countries, he said.<\/p>\n
The government also expects modern technology support from
\nChina, he added.<\/p>\n
However, Ato refused to specify the amount of investment for
\nthe project, saying his ministry was still calculating the cost.<\/p>\n
\"For sure, we will have concrete details of the project by
\nDecember 2000, we will issue a joint ministerial decree,\" Ato
\nsaid referring to the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of
\nSettlement and Regional Development and the Minister of
\nTransmigration and Population.<\/p>\n
Former president Soeharto initiated a similar ambitious
\nproject in Central Kalimantan when the country lost its
\nself-sufficiency in rice production in the early nineties.<\/p>\n
Called the \"one million hectare peat land project\", the
\nambitious 1996 Rp 2 trillion (US$234 million) project came to a
\nsorry end, as the land was found to be unsuitable for rice
\ncultivation.<\/p>\n
Some 63,000 farmers from outside the province have migrated to
\nthe area. (bkm)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-to-open-new-areas-for-paddy-fields-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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