he Agriculture Ministry is set to buy 3S, a pest-resistant paddy variety newly developed by the Bogor Agricultural University, to boost rice production in East and West Java.
Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said the prime variety offered high yields. He said he plans to buy 200 tons of 3S paddy seeds and distribute them to farmers in the two provinces free of charge.
“We will use our trip budget to buy the seeds for farmers. We want to prioritize our farmers. It’s much more important for us to provide them with prime variety seeds. It doesn’t matter for us to have a small [trip] budget as long as we can ease their burden,” he said.
The minister spoke during a national seminar held by the Indonesia Agronomy Association at the Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) International Convention Center in Bogor, West Java, recently.
It is expected the newly-invented 3S paddy seeds, which are pest resistant, can been fully bought and distributed to East and West Java farmers within two weeks.
IPB rector Herry Suhardiyanto said 3S was a high yielding variety. To introduce the prime variety, IPB cooperated with several local administrations, one of which was the Bogor regency administration. Farmers in Cariu district, Bogor regency, used the 3S variety seeds in 2016.
Herry said in 2017, IPB was set to strengthen seed producing programs in eight provinces and research activities in three regencies, namely Bogor regency in West Java, Banyuasin regency in South Sumatra and Pinrang regency in South Sulawesi.
“It aims to develop seed-independent regencies,” he said. (ebf)
Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.
Quickly share this news with your network—keep everyone informed with just a single click!
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Get the best experience—faster access, exclusive features, and a seamless way to stay updated.