Additional 114,000 hectares of rice fields needed annually

BOGOR, West Java (JP): An additional 114,000 hectares of rice fields are needed every year to maintain the nation's self- sufficiency in rice until early next century, an agricultural expert says.

Dr. Soedodo Hardjoamidjojo, an expert of biological and agricultural engineering at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), said yesterday that such expansion is required to meet the increasing demand due to the continuous growth of the population.

He said in his speech for the inauguration of his professorship that the rice field expansion is calculated without taking into account the fact that in Java alone about 40,000 hectares of rice fields are converted into industrial or residential areas annually.

Rice is consumed by more than 90 percent of Indonesia's population of about 189 million, which is expected to grow by 1.6 percent per annum in the coming five years.

Indonesia, which used to be the world's largest rice importer, became self-sufficient in 1984.

"At the end of the 1970s, our average annual per capita rice consumption was about 130 kg and it increased to 147 kg in the early 1990s and will jump to 154 kg in the next decade," said Soedodo, who received his doctoral degree in the North Carolina State University in the United States.

His warning came not long after the government stated last month that the current drought may slash the country's rice production by four percent this year from last year's 48.1 million tons of unhusked rice.

"This is why we need an additional 108,000 to 114,000 hectares of rice fields every year to maintain rice self-sufficiency," Soedodo said.

Irrigation

The professor also called for improvements in irrigation because Indonesia's total efficiency rate for irrigation use is only about 50 percent.

"More efficient use of irrigation facilities should get priority for agricultural activities, particularly in Java and Bali," he said.

Soedodo also cited that the development of big-scale irrigation facilities are better suited for other islands like Sumatra and Sulawesi.

In addition, he also appealed to the government to adjust its irrigation and agriculture policies in accordance to local customs so that the participation of the farmers can be more effective.

The professor also called for a more consistent enforcement of existing regulations which prohibit the conversion of fertile agricultural areas into industrial areas. (hdj)