Indonesia to send agriculturalists to developing nations
Indonesia to send agriculturalists to developing nations
PUNCAK, West Java (JP): An agreement signed here yesterday by
the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will allow Indonesia
to send its agriculturalists to other developing countries to
help increase production of staple foods.
Visiting FAO Director General Jacques Diouf, who signed the
agreement with Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah, said
that it is high time for other developing countries to learn the
knowledge, expertise and experience of Indonesia, a former huge
rice importer which has been successful in making itself self-
sufficient in rice since 1984.
"It is my gratitude to the government and to the people of
Indonesia for this technical cooperation," said the 56-year-old
Senegalese.
Sjarifudin told reporters that the Rome-based FAO has decided
to use Indonesian agriculturalists rather than Western ones on
the grounds that the salaries of Indonesian experts are cheaper.
"Our experts are also more familiar to the daily problems of
developing countries because of our position ourselves," he said.
Diouf praised President Soeharto, the on-going chairman of the
Non-Aligned Movement, who had initiated and encouraged Indonesian
agriculturalists to cooperate with their counterparts in other
developing countries.
Streamlining
In a related development, Diouf told reporters that currently
800 million of 5.5 billion world population do not have adequate
food.
He said that FAO, whose goals are enshrined in its motto Fiat
Panis or Let There Be Bread, had estimated that in the year 2003
the world population would be nine billion, during which the food
deficit matter would become more serious.
"We cannot do anything but increase our food production very
seriously, starting right now," he said, adding that most of the
800 million food-deficit communities are in countries with the
largest population rise.
Diouf, who got his Ph.D. in agricultural economics in
Sorbonne, France, added that one of the organization's programs
to face the challenge is to enhance technical cooperation among
developing countries.
He pointed out the need of Africa, which has only six percent
of its fields being irrigated, to learn from other developing
countries to manage its water, 50,000 cubic meters of which flow
into the sea each minute.
He briefed reporters about his plan to streamline the
organizational structure of FAO and to decentralize its power.
"Currently three fourths of FAO's experts are in Rome. I hope
in the next two years, one third of our experts will be working
in the fields," he said, adding that on the other hand, he had
created a Department of Sustainable Development to monitor the
growing environmental issue. (09)