VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOInews, Jakarta – Acting Minister of Agriculture Arief Prasetyo Adi said to avoid rice imports, the Indonesian government aims to increase rice production to 35 million tons by 2024.

"Next year, I am asking the director general of the Ministry of Agriculture to prepare 35 million tons of rice equivalent," Arief Prasetyo Adi was quoted as saying by ANTARA on Tuesday (24/10/2023).

He said that the production target for 2024 was higher than the 2023 target of 31 million tons. This increase is to ensure that Indonesia does not need to import rice to meet domestic demands.

According to the Area Sample Frame Survey (ASF) by Statistics Indonesia, the estimated rice harvest area in 2023 is 10.20 million hectares, with production projected to reach 53.63 million tons of grain, or equivalent to 30.90 million tons of rice. Meanwhile, rice consumption is estimated at 30.62 million tons, resulting in a surplus of 0.28 million tons of rice.

Acting Minister Arief said to achieve the target by increasing rice productivity from 5.2 tons per hectare to 5.4, 5.5, or even 5.7 tons per hectare.

He also noted that in order to meet the 2024 production target, the ministry, together with agriculture offices across Indonesia, needs to ensure the successful implementation of the first planting season of 2023-2024, which runs from November to March next year.

To achieve this, the guaranteed availability of seeds, fertilizers, irrigation, pest control, and agricultural extension workers has been identified as crucial.

"What is very important to achieve the rice production target is to build a strong food ecosystem," he said.

He also mentioned other efforts to pursue the target by providing agricultural insurance for farmers and agribusiness actors. As well as ensuring the readiness of regional leaders to address problems in the field and awarding agricultural agencies in provinces and districts that have succeeded in increasing production.

"We at the Ministry of Agriculture have also appointed regional focal points so that problems in the field and those faced by rice farmers can be addressed immediately. Therefore, optimizing the role of extension workers is also an important step," he added.

VOInews, Jakarta: Indonesian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pahala Mansury encouraged the Indonesia-Latin America and Caribbean Countries (INA-LAC 2023) forum to expand trade and investment cooperation. That, he said, in the field of trade, total INA-LAC trade has increased by 8.9% in the last 5 years.

"In 2022, the value will reach USD 13.10 billion, up 24.4% compared to the previous year," he said in a speech at the opening of the 6th INA-LAC in Jakarta, Monday (16/10/2023).

In addition, that he said, investment between Indonesia, Latin America and the Caribbean is worth USD 11.30 million in 2022, an exponential increase from 2021 which amounted to only USD 1.89 million.

"We must take full advantage of this," he said.

"Both have enormous potential to become renewable energy centers, especially green hydrogen," he said.

In addition, Indonesia, Latin America, and the Caribbean are also considered to play an important role in the electric vehicle industry because they have abundant reserves of important minerals including nickel, copper, cobalt, and lithium.

"We must complement each other to become an important part of the global supply chain and contribute to accelerating the global energy transition," he said.

Another area that also received attention was the digital economy and creative economy. According to Pahala Mansury, the digital economy and creative economy sectors present many areas for collaboration including in the development of digital talent and digital infrastructure.(Andy Romdoni)