Company denies Supertoy rice harvest failure

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Mon, 09/08/2008 4:30 PM | National

PT Sarana Harapan Indopangan (SHI), the company responsible for the infamous Supertoy HL2 rice seeds, denied reports that the seedlings planted in Madiun, East Java, failed to produce and were part of a scam.

Agus Zamroni, General Manager of SHI, on Monday said the seeds that were planted in more than 40 hectares of paddy fields were in good condition and had produced eight tons of rice per hectare, although the company had previously promised 15 tons per hectare.

"The Supertoy rice in Madiun is doing well. People intend to bring me down with this issue," Agus said, as quoted by Tempointeraktif.com on Monday.

Supertoy HL2 reportedly turned out to be a hoax after farmers at Grabag village, Purworejo, Central Java, failed to reap a second harvest of the new rice variety earlier this month.

The project was handled by Heru Lelono, whose name initials were in the seed name, who is an advisor to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The project, the second one linked the presidential office that appear to have been a hoax, was considered by analyst to reveal nepotism and cronyism among the President's inner circle. (dre)

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