Maintaining rice self-sufficiency vital: Minister

Maintaining rice self-sufficiency vital: Minister

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah
said again yesterday that it was important to maintain self-
sufficiency in rice because importing too much rice could lead to
economic and political instability.

At a hearing with members of the House of Representatives'
Commission IV for agriculture, forestry and transmigration
issues, Sjarifudin said rice was still a strategic commodity that
influenced most of the country's key economic indicators,
including inflation rates.

"So if Indonesia imports too much rice, it would be the same
as importing instability," he said.

"When Indonesia joins free trade, it means that not only can
manufactured goods freely enter the country, but agricultural
products as well," he said.

He said it was estimated that in 2003 Indonesia would need at
least 10 million hectares of rice fields to produce the 60
million tons of (unhusked) rice needed to maintain self-
sufficiency that year.

This meant an additional two million to 2.5 million hectares
were needed and most of this was expected to be outside Java.

The estimates were based on predictions of a 1.6-percent
annual population growth and a 5.5-percent growth in the annual
per capita income.

Sjarifudin said rice consumption was 130 kilograms per capita
per year, down from 135 kg about four years ago.

The decline was a result of a rise in per capita income that
led to more extensive food diversification.

"Rice fields in Java are diminishing at a rate of 40,000
hectares to 50,000 hectares a year. Most were converted into non-
agricultural areas but some are developed into horticulture crop
areas," he said.

He said the government was now carrying out programs which
would enable Indonesia to maintain its rice self-sufficiency
which was achieved for the first time in 1984.

The government intended to increase the productivity of rice
fields, which now stood at around 4.5 tons per hectare, he said.

Sjarifudin said the government would continue to promote high-
quality rice varieties -- such as the Mamberamo, Cibodas and
Maros varieties -- which could yield up to 6.5 tons per hectare.

"We also cooperate with the (Philippine-based) International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI) which produces rice varieties that
can yield up to 12 tons a hectare," he said.

Sjarifudin said only 30 percent of Indonesia's farmers used
high-yield rice varieties.

At the same time, the government was also making efforts to
extend the area of rice fields outside Java.

He acknowledged it was now difficult to source funds for
developing huge irrigation systems. The government would
therefore opt to build smaller, more simplified irrigation
systems.

He said rice fields in tidal zones were also being developed
as an alternative to using irrigation systems.

But he said that the government's ambitious one million
hectare peat land project in Central Kalimantan was at a stage
that required extra care.

The project involves converting one million hectares of peat
land into agricultural areas, including rice fields.

He explained that the government's special team to oversee the
project had decided not to wait until the project's drainage
system was completed before starting planting.

"The special team decided that once part of the drainage
system is finished, transmigrants should start relocating (from
densely-populated Java) so they can begin (rice and horticulture
crop) cultivating," he said.

It was discovered later on, however, that the drainage system
and the floodgates did not function properly.

As a result, the government must take "emergency steps" to
save the 2,000 hectares where planting and cultivating had
already started, he said.

Peat land is a special type of soil which should be developed
as soon as it is opened for cultivation, experts say.

Failing to do so -- and leaving it exposed to over-draining --
would result in the land being unproductive and unrecoverable for
agricultural purposes.

Experts say that without additional minerals, the land is
unsuitable for agriculture. (pwn)