FAO's Jacques Diouf will visit Indonesia

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)