House okays crop varieties bill

House okays crop varieties bill

JAKARTA (JP): House of Representatives Commission III on
agriculture, forestry, and maritime and fishing affairs
officially approved on Wednesday a bill on crop variety
protection, the first of its kind here.

The move will open the way for the passage of the bill into
law.

"The main purpose of the bill is to increase agricultural
productivity, to protect researchers and their research and to
revive agribusinesses," Ahmed Arief, a commission member and also
a member of the Special Committee which drafted the bill, told
The Jakarta Post.

The idea for such a bill, Achmad said, emerged five years ago
but it is only now that the draft has come to fruition as many
were unaware of the importance of such a bill.

"The draft is important to protect our resources and to
produce more crop varieties," he said.

According to Achmad, under the bill researchers and their
research will be protected and they will be given patent rights.

"Hopefully, crop research will increase and we can produce
more prime seeds at lower prices," he said.

It's such an irony, he added, that this country is still
importing rice, vegetables and fruit while our resources are so
abundant.

"The last time we had self-sufficiency in rice was during the
1984-1985 period. And now we're still importing rice, vegetables
and fruit. It's very ironic because we're such a diverse country
in terms of natural resources," said Achmad.

The bill, Achmad added, is also aimed at rearranging the
agriculture system, including seed distribution, infrastructure,
and agricultural production aids such as fertilizer, pesticides
and equipment. (hdn)