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Agriculture ministry anticipates El Nino
The Agriculture Ministry has set up a team to anticipate El Nino, which is forecast to hit parts of Indonesia
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The Agriculture Ministry has set up a team to anticipate El Nino, which is forecast to hit parts of Indonesia.
"A weak El Nino is forecast to hit Indonesia, a moderate one in Australia, while a strong one in the United States," Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said while accompanying President Joko Widodo in Manado, North Sulawesi, on Thursday.
The minister said his ministry anticipated a possible drought that could affect more than 200,000 hectares of land, saying that the ministry had studied the matter for five to 10 years and is now ready to implement some measures.
"I have gathered all agricultural experts and those competent of tackling the impacts of El Nino," he said as quoted by Antara news agency.
With such anticipation, national rice production is expected to be unaffected by El Nino this year.
In 1997 and 1998, Indonesia experienced a prolonged drought induced by the strongest recorded El Nino, which triggered widespread fires.
The greatest loss caused by forest and land fires in Indonesia occurred in 1997, when fires wiped out millions of hectares of forest and plantation areas and caused losses estimated at US$2.45 billion.(+++)
