Govt warned not to hastily introduce 'super rice'<\/p>\n
Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government must first conduct a thorough test before
\nintroducing the new high-yielding \"super rice\" to local farmers,
\nan independent agriculture expert said.<\/p>\n
Bayu Krisnamurthi, director of the Center for Development
\nStudies at the Bogor Agriculture University (IPB), said on Friday
\nthat both laboratory and field tests were needed to make sure
\nthat the use of the genetically modified rice would not cause any
\nserious harm to the environment.<\/p>\n
He added, that the government must also be aware that applying
\nthe hybrid rice would make this country dependent on China
\nbecause Indonesia did not have the necessary technology in
\nproducing the seeds.<\/p>\n
The high-yielding \"super rice\" is now being grown on 50,000-
\nhectares of farmland in China.<\/p>\n
\"The government must do a series of tests first, not only in
\nthe laboratory but also in the paddy fields to make sure the
\n\"super rice\" is really suitable with the conditions in
\nIndonesia,\" Bayu told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He has just returned from China where he attended the
\nInternational Rice Congress.<\/p>\n
China is the first country to start applying the \"super rice\".
\nSome said that farmers in several major rice-producing countries
\nin Asia would start growing the hybrid rice in two to three years
\nto feed rising populations.<\/p>\n
Gurdev Khush, a consultant at the International Rice Research
\nInstitute (IRRI), who has extensive work in developing high-
\nyielding rice strains, said that the \"super rice\" would make up
\n20 percent of the total rice area in several countries such as
\nIndonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and India.<\/p>\n
Almost all of the people in Asia, or 60 percent of the world's
\npopulation, rely on rice as a staple.<\/p>\n
Khush said that Indonesia might be next in line to start
\napplying the \"super rice\", which can yield 13 tons of rice per
\nhectare, compared to the average 6.2 tons per hectare from
\nordinary strains.<\/p>\n
\"But the government must check first whether it can really
\nproduce rice at 13 tons per hectare,\" Bayu said.<\/p>\n
\"Another important issue is that we don't have the high
\ntechnology needed to produce the seeds. This means that we will
\nlikely have to rely on China (for the seeds).\"<\/p>\n
Rice is a strategic commodity in this country because it is
\nthe staple foodstuff of the 210 million population.<\/p>\n
Experts have repeatedly called on the government to boost
\nfarmer's productivity by providing incentives including qualified
\nseeds to help boost domestic rice output.<\/p>\n
Indonesia managed to obtain self-sufficiency in rice 1984 but
\nsince then the production level has declined for a variety of
\nreasons.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's rice imports reached 6 million tons in 1998. This
\nfigure fell to 4 million tons in 1999, 1.5 million tons in 2000,
\nand 1.5 million tons last year.<\/p>\n
The government is targeting rice production this year at 52
\nmillion tons of unhusked rice, which is equal to about 30 million
\ntons of rice.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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