President asks people to diversify their diet<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto yesterday called on the
\ngeneral public to diversify their diet, and not to rely only on
\nrice which is still susceptible to pest attacks and weather
\nconditions.<\/p>\n
\"Due to our population growth, our need for food continues to
\nincrease, while our rice production still fluctuates. We should
\nnot rely on rice alone,\" President Soeharto said here yesterday.<\/p>\n
He was speaking at the annual ceremony to present awards to
\nfarmers and regional administrations for their success in the
\nagricultural intensification program.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that in order to reduce dependency on rice, the
\npublic should eat more of other foodstuffs.<\/p>\n
But he also said that the country's self-sufficiency in rice,
\nwhich has been achieved since 1984, should be maintained through
\nthe program to control the population growth.<\/p>\n
\"The government, therefore, has been stepping up its efforts
\nto push population growth down,\" he noted at the ceremony, which
\nwas also attended by First Lady Tien Soeharto, Vice President Try
\nSutrisno, Mrs. Tuti Sutrisno and a number of ministers.<\/p>\n
The food production increase will be useless if the rate of
\npopulation growth is still too high, he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's population, now estimated at about 192 million,
\ngrows by almost 2 percent per annum.<\/p>\n
\"We have to admit that our development success also brings in
\nnew challenges that we have to address,\" he said, adding
\nthat the challenges include increasingly liberalized global trade
\nwhich requires countries to open their economies.<\/p>\n
Agricultural development, he said, should be seen as part of
\nour efforts to increase efficiency in all economic sectors with a
\nview to benefiting from the economic liberalization.<\/p>\n
He noted that increasing the production of food crops should
\nalso be aimed at improving the prosperity of farmers, which still
\naccount for more than half of the Indonesian population.<\/p>\n
\"The bulk of profits in the agricultural sector should go to
\nthe farmers, and the fishermen. To ensure this, we have to
\nimprove the role of village cooperative units as economic
\ninstitutions in rural areas,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He added that the cooperatives should become agents in the
\ndevelopment of villages.<\/p>\n
The President noted that the success of the agricultural
\ndevelopment program is very much dependent on the abilities of
\nfarmers.<\/p>\n
\"Our success in developing agriculture is very much dependent
\non the quality of the farmers. We, therefore, should educate them
\nto master the simple but efficient technology,\" he said. (13)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/president-asks-people-to-diversify-their-diet-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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