FAO's Jacques Diouf will visit Indonesia

JAKARTA (JP): Director General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Jacques Diouf is due to arrive here on Saturday for a four-day visit at the invitation of Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah.

Diouf, FAO's seventh director general, will meet with President Soeharto and several ministers, including Sjarifudin, Minister of Forestry Djamaloedin Soeryohadikoesoemo, State Minister of National Development Planning/Chairman of the National Development Planning Board Ginandjar Kartasasmita and State Minister of Food/Chairman of the Logistics Board Ibrahim Hasan.

FAO has executed 10 projects in Indonesia with a total expenditure of US$6 million as of 1992.

The United Nations Information Center said here yesterday that even though the contribution of FAO projects in the country's agricultural development is small in monetary terms, as compared to aid from other international financial institutions or donors, the impact of FAO technical assistance is significant.

The integrated pest management project is one of FAO's projects in Indonesia rendering technical assistance to a huge government program. It is funded through country resources, a loan from the World Bank and a United States Agency for International Development trust fund.

The project is leading to a decline in pesticide use without a decline in crop yields. It is expected to save more than $150 million per year due to the elimination of pesticide subsidies and the banning of 57 insecticides.

The government recently signed an agreement with FAO, under which the organization will provide technical assistance for integrated pest management in the next four years. (icn)