Pilot projects in 14 regencies

Pilot projects in 14 regencies

JAKARTA (Antara): The Ministry for Agriculture's Agribusiness Bureau in cooperation with related agencies will carry out pilot projects on agribusiness development in 14 regencies throughout the country.

"Commodities to be developed are those which have important value of increasing economic growth for the sake of national economic progress," Head of the Agribusiness Office Ato Suprapto said here Saturday.

The pilot project aims at stepping up economic sector in rural areas, increasing quality of product, improving exported goods, creating more fields of jobs, improving people's income and narrowing social gap.

Suprapto said the Rp 200 million (US$ 86,956) pilot project will be carried out in two years before the end of the Seventh Five-Year Development (Repelita VII) in 1999.

The pilot projects which will be launched in Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi as well as in East Nusa Tenggara will cultivate commodities such as cassava, corn, potato, chilli, banana, and cacao as well as breed cattle, ornamental fish, shrimp and dug.