RI food production 'stable' despite floods in Sumatra<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (AP): Despite severe floods on the island of Sumatra
\nrecently, food production in Indonesia has stabilized, the U.N.'s
\nFood and Agriculture organization said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Milled rice production in 2000 is likely to be \"a favorable\"
\n33 million tons, 3 percent above last year and about 4 percent
\nabove the five-year average, a report by the FAO's Asia-Pacific
\nregional office in Bangkok said.<\/p>\n
It attributed the higher production to a long wet season and
\nonly minor incidences of pests and disease.<\/p>\n
Because of higher production, Indonesia will import less this
\nrice year, around 2.2 million tons, a sharp drop from the record
\n6 million tons imported in 1998-99, the FAO said.<\/p>\n
However, it warned, that \"concerns remain for food security in
\nparts of the country affected by civil unrest, which includes
\nAceh in the northwestern tip of Sumatra which was also seriously
\naffected by the recent floods.\"<\/p>\n
The report said the rice production was also affected by the
\nworst torrential rains in decades over the past week that damaged
\nrice fields and left almost 100 people dead in northern and
\nwestern Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Sumatra is the second largest rice producer in Indonesia after
\nJava.<\/p>\n
Sumatra would normally produce 20-25 percent of Indonesia's
\nannual output, with almost 45 percent of this coming from the
\nflood-hit northern and western provinces, the FAO said.<\/p>\n
The overall recovery in food production comes after the Asian
\neconomic crisis in 1997\/1998 and El Nino related weather
\ndisturbances, which \"eroded the livelihood of large sections of
\nthe population, particularly in urban areas, increasing poverty
\nlevels and vulnerability to food insecurity,\" it said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-food-production-stable-despite-floods-in-sumatra-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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