All hands on deck to lift RI out of crisis

BOGOR (JP): Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) rector Soleh Solahuddin underlined here Saturday the importance of introducing a new mass guidance (Bimas) movement to help lift Indonesia out of crisis.

The movement would work to intensify the use of neglected and unproductive land to bolster agricultural productivity in key crops such as rice, soybean and corn, he said. Indonesia is currently dependent on imports of all three staples.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony held on the institute's Darmaga campus, Soleh said that Indonesia imports one million tons of soybean and corn every year to meet demand from domestic and animal food industries. "Rice imports have also risen this year," he said.

Many poultry firms went bankrupt after the price of imported soybean and corn jumped when the rupiah fell in value, he said.

Soleh believes the new movement should be undertaken through a labor intensive program as this will provide much-needed employment.

If it is to succeed in assisting Indonesia reduce dependency on imports, skilled human resources, funds and technology will be required.

IPB has a competence in providing the necessary human resources and technology. "In pioneering the previous Bimas program in the early 1960s, the institute developed its human resources and technology to support the country's drive for rice self-sufficiency," he said.

The new Bimas movement could see the institute's students, graduates and lecturers returning to rural parts of the country to help improve agricultural productivity, he added.

Soleh also said that the agricultural sector could help reduce dependency on imports by investing in bio-technological research. Certain crops that are common in Indonesia can be processed into substitutes for a number of currently imported products.

A wheat flour substitute can be derived from several tubers, including garut and ganyong. Plastic substitutes can be manufactured by changing the chemical composition of manioc. Manioc can also be used to produce a textile-like material and paper. Medicines can be manufactured from basic compounds found in many species of plant in Indonesia's vast and diverse forests.

Research should also be carried out into manufacturing biodiesel, bioserfactan and vitamins from crude palm oil.

An integrated agro-industrial estate could then be set up as a site where these new bio-technologies are set to work for the nation. This would also help strengthen the country's industrial structure.

One hundred and forty three IPB students graduated Saturday with diploma degrees, 592 with Sarjana degrees, 162 with Magister degrees and 22 with Doctorate degrees. (24/jun/hhr)