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Govt eyes 500,000 hectares for new rice fields to feed Nusantara
Food supplies to the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) will still rely on shipments from outside of Kalimantan, especially from Java and Sulawesi.
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Food talks: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (left) talks to Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (right) and Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono on Thursday during the inspection of a location for the National Food Barn Development in Bentuk Jaya village, Kapuas regency, Central Kalimantan. Jokowi appointed Prabowo to head the newly established food barn. (Courtesy of Presidential Secretariat/Lukas)
T
he government is looking to produce rice from some 500,000 hectares of new paddies in Central Kalimantan, hoping that the output can help feed the inhabitants of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) at low cost.
Agriculture Minister Andi Arman Sulaiman visited Dadahup Regency in Central Kalimantan, which will house the new paddy field.
The site was part of a government-led development project during former president Soeharto’s New Order meant to transform peatland into areas capable to support food production needs.
“We are confident that we will be able to build a food granary which will also supply rice to the [future] capital city,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
Read also: RI looks for Chinese help to fix domestic rice farming shortfall
Amran said that around 21, 224 hectares of land remain abandoned and uncultivated by farmers.
Later, the government will continue the process of preparing the land by identifying land ownership and a proper management system by involving the local community and investors.
