Questions abound as giant rice estate plan proceeds<\/p>\n
By Prapti Widinugraheni<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government's ambitious program to convert
\nmore than one million hectares of peat land into rice and food
\ncrop estates has stirred a huge controversy.<\/p>\n
But the US$217 million mega project, initiated by a June 1995
\nPresidential Decree, has started and there is to be no turning
\nback, according to officials.<\/p>\n
Work began last month on a 1,000-hectare experimental plot
\nwhich was planted with high-quality seeds and applied new
\nagriculture technology.<\/p>\n
A 10,000-hectare plot has also been opened recently, applying
\nthe technology, crops and plants used in the 1,000-hectare
\nexperimental plot.<\/p>\n
The government will continue to expand the area, adding
\nanother 10,000 hectares this year and 10,000 hectares next year.
\nThe overall project is scheduled to be completed by the year
\n2005.<\/p>\n
According to the director of Land Rehabilitation and
\nDevelopment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Sinis Munandar, rice
\nestates will make up 700,000 hectares of the total area because
\nnot all parts of the peat land are suitable for planting rice.<\/p>\n
By 2005, the 700,000 hectares of rice estates is expected to
\nproduce some 5.9 million tons a year.<\/p>\n
Workers for the program will consist of local residents and
\ntransmigrants from the populous provinces in Java, Bali and Nusa
\nTenggara.<\/p>\n
Sinis, in a recent interview with The Jakarta Post, was
\noptimistic there would be no difficulty in persuading workers to
\ncome to the area.<\/p>\n
\"The place will become a growth center. It won't consist only
\nof rice fields and plantations but it will also have other
\nfacilities for the people, such as schools, health centers and
\nmarkets,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In addition to this, he said, each family will be entitled to
\nown 2.5 hectares of certified land, including housing facilities.<\/p>\n
\"I'm sure it will work out well. What other attitude can we
\nhave? Our rice fields are declining in number, so there's nothing
\nelse we can do but make up for the loss.<\/p>\n
\"Let's just wait and see the results of the 10,000 hectares
\nnext year.\"<\/p>\n
Effort<\/p>\n
The idea of converting peat land into rice fields first
\nemerged in mid-1995, when the government realized that a major
\neffort was needed to restore and secure the country's self-
\nsufficiency in rice.<\/p>\n
Unhusked rice production last year was estimated to have
\nincreased by only 4 percent, to about 52 million tons -- lower
\nthan the 6 percent expected.<\/p>\n
The government said the situation was partly caused by the
\ndecrease in harvested acreage. Many rice fields, particularly
\nthose in Java -- which provides about 60 percent of the rice
\nconsumed by Indonesia's 195 million people -- have been converted
\ninto settlements and industrial sites.<\/p>\n
This slashed the total area of rice fields in the country from
\n16.7 million hectares in 1983 to 15.9 million hectares in 1993.<\/p>\n
The drop in production and the rise in consumption, caused by
\nthe ever-increasing population, saw Indonesia lose its self-
\nsufficiency in rice -- an accolade it had achieved in 1984.<\/p>\n
In 1993, the country had to rely partly on imports and in
\n1994, production fell to 46.6 million tons -- the lowest level in
\n15 years.<\/p>\n
In the first half (April-September) of the current fiscal
\nyear, rice imports reached US$239.7 million in value -- the
\nhighest level for more than a decade.<\/p>\n
The government realized that relying on imports was risky
\nbecause the world had a very thin rice market, amounting to less
\nthan five million tons at any time.<\/p>\n
It was for these reasons that the government decided to start
\na number of initiatives, which are expected to increase rice
\nproduction by at least 5 percent this year.<\/p>\n
As demonstrated by Sinis, the government has high hopes for
\nthe mega project.<\/p>\n
But others are skeptical. Members of the Indonesian Peat
\nSociety have warned that the project needs thorough planning.<\/p>\n
Bambang Setiadi, the society's chairman, told legislators in a
\nhearing earlier this year that the most important aspect of the
\nproject was increasing the land's fertility and ensuring it had a
\nsound irrigation system.<\/p>\n
He said: \"Otherwise, we cannot expect transmigrants, who will
\nbe the tillers, to be willing to work in the area,\" he said in
\nthe hearing.<\/p>\n
He warned that if the project failed, Indonesia would no doubt
\nbe the object of criticism, particularly from abroad.<\/p>\n
But Sinis is convinced Indonesia has the technology and
\nexperts to undertake the job successfully.<\/p>\n
\"I know peat land is not very good for agriculture, but we
\nhave thousands of professors and the technology is there. Why
\nshould we be pessimistic?\" he said.<\/p>\n
In spite of the debate, no one -- not even the peat society --
\nis openly opposed to the mega project.<\/p>\n
This is not only because the project has already started --
\nmaking little space for debate -- but also because the public is
\nfully aware of the rice crisis Indonesia might face if no major
\nbreakthrough is made.<\/p>\n
Economic considerations were put aside and people felt there
\nwas no need to calculate how much Indonesia would lose from the
\nconversion of forests in the area to rice and plantation estates.<\/p>\n
According to the Ministry of Forestry, the million-hectare
\npeat land overlaps with some 15 forest concessions covering more
\nthan 500,000 hectares.<\/p>\n
The government also seems comfortable with the thought that
\nthe area will still be productive during droughts, when most rice
\nfields in Java are unproductive.<\/p>\n
\"Droughts are actually good for peat land areas, which are
\nwetlands. So when droughts hit Java, the peat land will be
\nproductive,\" Sinis said.<\/p>\n
If the opposite occurred, such as when the 1,000-hectare
\nexperimental plot was recently swamped by floods caused by heavy
\ndownpours, then: \"That is a misfortune we cannot avoid, just like
\nthe recent floods in Jakarta,\" Sinis said.<\/p>\n
\"If the experimental plot shows unfavorable results, we will
\njust have to improve things. There's no going back on this,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>",
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