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)