Bali mulls law on purchase

DENPASAR: A lecturer of state-run Udayana University on Thursday stressed the importance of the Bali provincial administration to prepare a regional law on the procurement by hotels and restaurants of at least 40 percent for local agricultural produce.

Speaking at a discussion on "Sustainable Rural Agriculture Development to Prevent Food Crisis and Alleviate Poverty" at the university campus, IGN Alit Susanta Wirya said that in order to help improve Balinese farmers' welfare, the implementation of production and quality improvement technology was no longer adequate.

"There should have been a regional regulation which protects the Balinese farmers," said Alit Susanta, who is also head of Udayana's biotechnology post-graduate program.

What he meant by protection is a kind of obligation for the tourism sector, in this case hotels and restaurants, to buy the agricultural products from the farmers.

"The rationale is based on the fact that tourism development has grown at the expense of agriculture. Now is the time for the tourism to help agriculture in Bali," he said.

Alit Susanta's remarks were shared by Gusti Alit Gunadi, one of the university's Agriculture School lecturers, who said, "Ideally the hotels and restaurants should have procured up to 40 percent of their agricultural needs from local farmers."

Meanwhile, Bangli Regent I Nengah Arnawa said at the same forum that his regency was still working out on a regional regulation to prevent the alteration of agricultural areas for non-agricultural purposes.

"I will hand over a copy of a regulation draft for deliberation at Udayana's School of Agriculture," Arnawa said. -- JP