Plan on `Agropolitan' announced

JAKARTA (JP): The Municipal Agriculture Office has drawn up a strategic plan for maximizing the use of small plots of land by planting crops with high economic value.

Maharanto, the chief of the office, said that the "agropolitan" policy was established to cope with the fact that the area of farmland in Jakarta has decreased every year to make way for construction.

"We decided to concentrate on the 'agropolitan' pattern in which high technology is used to produce high quality output from small plots of land," Maharanto told reporters here yesterday at a press conference on a horticulture exhibition.

He cited fruit, vegetables and orchids as crops with high economic values.

Available data show that in Jakarta there are a total of 3,333 hectares of rice fields and 27,874 hectares of plantations. In 1993 the area of farmland had decreased by 12 percent from the previous year.

Maharanto said that the office will try to keep the program in line with city planning.

He explained that Jakarta's agricultural products cannot meet the ever increasing demands from the public. Last year the demand for fruit reached 209,883 tons, while plantations in and around the capital produced only 42,314 tons. The demand for vegetables in the corresponding period was 373,291 tons and the production was 47,603 tons.

"The shortages are usually covered from other provinces, such as West Java, Central Java, East Java and Lampung, as well as by imports from other countries. Nationally, Indonesia's imports of fruits and vegetables account for 12 percent of the total demand," Maharanto said.

In cooperation with an agricultural association, his office has started a program to make agriculture more profitable through public presentation and special courses. Little impact has been felt from this effort as yet.

"Most Jakartans are not patient enough to wait, they want a quick investment return. I understand the situation because agriculture needs big investment and it takes time before things start to produce," Maharanto explained.

He added that most Jakartans prefer to invest in the property business, by building structures on their land for rent.

Maharanto said that his office will hold a horticulture exhibition at the Ragunan Camping Ground, South Jakarta, from Dec. 8 to Dec. 18. It will present many kinds of Indonesian plants, including rare ones. (yns)