Military Command to grow corn, beans

Military Command to grow corn, beans

JAKARTA (JP): Members of the Jakarta Military Command launched
yesterday a project which will involve hundreds of its personnel
in farming unused land in Bekasi and Tangerang.

Jakarta Military Commander Maj. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin
handed over a hoe and a packet of seeds to two officers to mark
the project's inauguration at the command's headquarters in East
Jakarta. Corn and green beans will be grown.

The operation, called "Operasi Bhakti Tani ABRI-Rakyat I"
(Batara I), is aimed at helping boost staple food production
during the monetary crisis, Sjafrie said.

In Tangerang, the project will involve the participation of
residents who were recently laid off, while in Bekasi the
military officers will cooperate with local farmers, he said.

"Corn and green beans are chosen because they have
multifunctions, either for human beings or livestock," he said.

He said preliminary soil tests were conducted before the crops
were plants.

The project involves the local authorities and PT Inagro (PT
Intidaya Agro Lestari), a horticulture seed company, which is in
charge of providing the seeds, and the Tapos ranch, owned by
President Soeharto, to supervise the cultivation.

Sjafrie said 10 hectares of unused land would be cultivated in
Tangerang and another 20 hectares in Bekasi.

"After 21 days, we will reduce the number of our personnel to
about 90 in the two regencies," he added. (ivy)