Special food crop project planned

JAKARTA (JP): Three government institutions agreed yesterday to carry out a pilot project on the establishment of food reserves for emergency situations by planting food crops in unproductive forests.

"We hope the program will account for 15 percent of the national food reserves in the next five years," State Minister of Food Ibrahim Hasan said at a ceremony for the singing of a joint decree on the project.

Ibrahim signed the decree with Minister of Forestry Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo and Armed Forces chief General Feisal Tanjung.

Ibrahim said that the program will be implemented in 10 provinces which, based on a feasibility study prepared by the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, have unproductive forests suitable for the planting of food crops.

"In the first stage, we will begin implementing the project next month in 100 hectares of forested areas in each of five provinces: Lampung, Central and East Kalimantan, Irian Jaya and East Timor," he said.

Implementation in the five other provinces -- Aceh, West Sumatra, West and South Kalimantan and Maluku -- will start between 1996 and 1997, he added.

He said the first stage was likely to cost Rp 1.25 billion (US$549,934), which will be financed jointly by the forestry ministry, the office of the minister of food and the Armed Forces.

Tanjung said that members of the Armed Forces will help farmers in surrounding areas in carrying out the project.(04)