Increase production of corn: President

Increase production of corn: President

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto ordered 16 provincial
governments yesterday to boost corn production and help the
country cut back on imports.

Soeharto said the government has carried out special steps and
partnership programs in these provinces to increase corn
production and to save "a large amount" of state revenue.

Soeharto was speaking at a ceremony to honor several farming
groups, businesses and local government officials involved in
agriculture.

Soeharto said Indonesia's soybean production should also be
increased because demand for the commodity had continued to rise
and caused the country to rely heavily on imports.

"Food security is the main prerequisite in guaranteeing
political, social and economic stability," Soeharto said in the
ceremony at Merdeka Palace, also attended by Vice President Try
Sutrisno, Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah, State
Minister of Women's Roles Mien Sugandhi and Minister of
Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Subijakto Tjakrawerdaja.

The Ministry of Agriculture's Director General for Food and
Horticulture, Amrin Kahar, was quoted by Antara as saying soybean
production currently reached 1.2 tons per hectare and was sold at
Rp 800 (35 U.S. cents) per kilogram. Imports were sold below this
price.

Amrin said Indonesia's soybean plantations could produce about
two tons per hectare.

"In fact several farmers in Yogyakarta and Lombok, West Nusa
Tenggara, could reach a productivity of 4.3 and 4.2 tons per
hectare," he said.

Indonesia's soybean production reached 1.9 million tons a year
while demand was 2.3 million tons a year. As a result, Indonesia
has had to import between 400,000 and 600,000 tons of soybean
each year.

The Ministry of Agriculture aims to stop soybean imports all
together by the end of the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan in
1999. (pwn)