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State firms set up joint ventures for food estate
The planned large-scale commercial farming or food estate in Merauke, Papua, has attracted many investors as well as state firms, says a top government official
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he planned large-scale commercial farming or food estate in Merauke, Papua, has attracted many investors as well as state firms, says a top government official.
Deputy minister for Agro-Industry, Forestry, Pulp, Printing and Publication at the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry, Agus Pakpahan, told journalists in Jakarta that 10 firms including fertilizer, fishery and agriculture companies would set up a new subsidiary named PT Energi Padi Nusantara (EPN), which would concentrate on rice-based crops in Merauke.
“Energi Padi Nusantara will manage rice-based crops in Merauke. It will set up farmer-owned enterprises on 10,000 hectares of land,” Agus said.
A team has already been working in Papua to support EPN activities, although the government is still conducting studies on its plans.
The State-Owned Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar said that EPN would cooperate with farmers that would provide raw rice to the company.
“We will also convert the husks produced by raw rice to be power, which will be used by state electricity producer PT PLN,” Mustafa said.
Agus also said that state plantation firms were interested in investing in Merauke.
“They plan to cultivate sugarcane and construct sugar factories in the area,” he said, adding that four companies; PTPN IX, PTPN X, PTPN XI and PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia had signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of sugar factories, in partnership with the local government, which would have a capacity of 10,000 tons of cane per day.
The government has suggested those companies seek suitable locations to provide further information on the investment needed to set up the sugar factories.
The planned food estate, which would span 1.6 million hectares of land in Papua, is part of the current government’s 100-day program.
Under the project, the land in Merauke district will be converted to grow crops such as rice, corn, soybean, sugar and palm oil as part of the government’s efforts to reduce dependence on imports and see Indonesia become a global food producer.
