Govt upbeat about rice self-sufficiency this year

Desy Nurhayati and Adianto P. Simamora ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 04/12/2008 11:16 AM  |  Headlines

As the President asking for farmers' help in boosting the country's rice production, the Vice President has predicted Indonesia will attain self-sufficiency in meeting its rice needs this year.

"If there are no extreme weather changes, Indonesia will even be able to export rice next year," Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Friday.

Kalla's statement came after his recent visits to the paddy-rich areas of Bantul, Yogyakarta, and Tambung, Malang, last week.

"During my visit, farmers told me the productivity of paddy fields there was high, between 7 and 8 million tons (of rice) per hectare.

"There are even fields that produce 9 million tons of rice a hectare, which is quite good," he said.

The national productivity average is around 6 million tons per hectare.

He said the rise in productivity was largely attributable to last year's move by the government to distribute Rp 1 trillion in superior rice seeds to farmers.

Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono has said the government has a goal of increasing rice production 5 percent this year, up from 4.7 percent growth the year earlier.

He also said Indonesia's rice production growth in 2006 was higher than other rice-producing countries such as India, Bangladesh and Thailand.

At the State Palace in Jakarta, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told farmers in a meeting that an increase in rice production was necessary amid increasing consumption, and that the government stood ready to help.

"I ask farmers nationwide to work together with the government to address this problem.

"The government provides facilities and assistance, but you are the executors; you have a better understanding of how to produce more rice," he told a meeting with representatives of farmers associations nationwide.

The President said he was encouraged by the steady increase in national rice production.

"Last year's growth of 4.7 percent in our rice production was the greatest achievement in the last 10 years. If we can maintain this growth, we could not only be self-sufficient but also export the commodity."

During the meeting, several farmers offered ideas for boosting rice productivity based on their experience.

Edi Suryanto, a rice farmer from Jember, East Java, said farmers in his village had been able to enhance their rice production using a "system of rice intensification" (SRI).

"By using SRI, we have been able to significantly boost our production from between 6 and 7 tons to between 10 and 14 tons per hectare," he said.

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