Agriculture Sector Can Contribute to Economic Development, President Jokowi Says

By Office of Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for State Documents & Translation     Date 12 Maret 2020
Category: News
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President Jokowi delivers his remarks at the Inauguration of the second Asian Forum on Agriculture and Food (ASAFF) 2020, at the State Palace, Jakarta, Thursday (12/3). (Photo: Public Relations / Oji)

Agriculture sector can contribute significantly to the country’s economic growth through the improvement of the people’s income and the export of its products, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said.

President Jokowi made the statement during the Inauguration of the Second Asian Forum on Agriculture and Food (ASAFF) 2020, at the State Palace, Jakarta, Thursday (12/3).

“The agricultural sector also contributes to the country’s functional food supply, which is important for the nation. Food can provide us with health benefits and it can increase the productivity of our nation and country,” the President said.

On that occasion, President Jokowi ordered his Ministers to pay close attention to the development of agriculture sector from the upstream sector to the downstream sector.

Indonesia, the President continued, still has a large land area for new agricultural lands, for instance in Pulang Pisau area in Central Kalimantan province which is used to accommodate a million hectares of peatland.

“I have inspected the field. Both irrigation infrastructure and seedling for peatland are different from regular lands. I think this is the task of the Indonesian Farmers Association (HKTI) to address such problems,” the President said.

President Jokowi also said he has received a report that the first trial could produce 1.5 tons per hectare; yet although the paddy grew, the loss could not be avoided.

“However, the third trial produced up to 4.5 tons per hectare. The process should be repeated. We cannot just stop,” the President said.

The President went on to say that corporations established by farmers are expected to provide larger-scale farming areas so that the land can be more productive.

According to the President, there are around 300 thousand hectares of land that can be utilized in Pulang Pisau, adding that 300,000 hectares of land could raise more harvest production if it is managed by using good seeds and advanced agricultural technology.

 

 

Translated by: Syarifah Aisyah
Reviewed by: M. Ersan Pamungkas

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