More Money, Land Needed To Boost Crops, Expert Says
Farmers’ lack of access to land and capital, and the rapid conversion of agricultural land to other uses, is restraining the country’s agricultural output, experts said at a seminar on the agriculture sector’s outlook in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Hermanto Siregar, deputy rector of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), said farmers would be unable to significantly boost output if these problems remain unsolved, regardless of how intensively they managed their existing land.
“The growth of the agriculture sector next year will still be hampered mostly by two factors: land and capital,” Hermanto said.
About 100,000 hectares of productive agricultural land is converted to non-agricultural uses every year, he said. Meanwhile, the average farmer works on less than half a hectare.
“It’s government’s job to solve the problem through agrarian reform, and it must be done as soon as possible,” Hermanto said. “Land conversion has a significant effect on agricultural output.”
Farmers would not be able to improve output on existing land without greater access to capital to improve their seed quality and farming methods, he added.
Also speaking at the seminar, Agriculture Minister Suswono said the government would cooperate with the National Land Agency (BPN) to address land-reform problems.
Meanwhile, the government has targeted production increases next year for staple foods, including rice, corn and soybeans.
The Agriculture Ministry has targeted a 3.2 percent increase in rice production, with unprocessed rice expected to total 66.68 million tons.
Corn output is expected to reach 19.8 million tons, a 10 percent increase over this year.
The ministry is also encouraging small farmers and palm oil plantations to plant more soybeans as part of an effort to reach self-sufficiency in soybean production by 2014.
On Wednesday, Suswono urged rice farmers to plant soybeans between rice seasons.
Hermanto Siregar, deputy rector of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), said farmers would be unable to significantly boost output if these problems remain unsolved, regardless of how intensively they managed their existing land.
“The growth of the agriculture sector next year will still be hampered mostly by two factors: land and capital,” Hermanto said.
About 100,000 hectares of productive agricultural land is converted to non-agricultural uses every year, he said. Meanwhile, the average farmer works on less than half a hectare.
“It’s government’s job to solve the problem through agrarian reform, and it must be done as soon as possible,” Hermanto said. “Land conversion has a significant effect on agricultural output.”
Farmers would not be able to improve output on existing land without greater access to capital to improve their seed quality and farming methods, he added.
Also speaking at the seminar, Agriculture Minister Suswono said the government would cooperate with the National Land Agency (BPN) to address land-reform problems.
Meanwhile, the government has targeted production increases next year for staple foods, including rice, corn and soybeans.
The Agriculture Ministry has targeted a 3.2 percent increase in rice production, with unprocessed rice expected to total 66.68 million tons.
Corn output is expected to reach 19.8 million tons, a 10 percent increase over this year.
The ministry is also encouraging small farmers and palm oil plantations to plant more soybeans as part of an effort to reach self-sufficiency in soybean production by 2014.
On Wednesday, Suswono urged rice farmers to plant soybeans between rice seasons.