More attention for agriculture

More attention for agriculture

From Republika

In the 1970s and 1980s Indonesia was known as a successful agrarian country with Karawang regency and some other places in Central and East Java being the country's largest rice-producing areas. In these two decades Indonesia was self-sufficient in rice.

It is strange, however, that today many rice fields in Karawang, Tangerang and Cianjur, for example, have been converted into shopping centers, office buildings and housing complexes. As a result, the country's rice production has gone down so considerably that many farmers have to eke out a meager existence.

Megawati Soekarnoputri and her Cabinet must pay serious attention to this matter because agriculture is a way of life for the small people, in general. Unless this problem is properly addressed, Megawati cannot hope to win in the upcoming 2004 general election.

VALERY SETIAWAN, Bengkulu