Minister Of Agriculture Encourages Superior Varieties To Increase National Rice Production

Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo (third left) inspects the Inpara 8 rice plant in Subang, West Java. ANTARA/HO-Ministry of Agriculture

JAKARTA - Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo encourages the improvement of the quality of superior rice seed varieties in order to increase national rice production which will later support rice exports.

"Without high-yielding varieties, we will not be able to have a surplus of rice as we can feel today, so there is no need to import rice anymore. So increasing rice productivity must be a challenge for us all because rice is very important for the life of the nation," said Minister of Agriculture Syahrul in a statement quoted Between, Saturday, June 25.

Minister of Agriculture Syahrul said Indonesia's rice productivity ranks second out of nine FAO countries in the Asian continent, with Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand in order.

"In the past, when using the Silugonggo variety, it only produced 2 to 3 tons per hectare. Now there are new varieties such as Ciherang, Inpari and others, which have been introduced so that farmers' productivity is increasing, our rice stock is also increasing," said the Minister of Agriculture.

However, Syahrul requested that rice productivity be increased from just 5.2 tons per hectare. Therefore, the Minister of Agriculture asked his staff to review rice seeds, irrigation, fertilization systems to post-harvest and make various efforts so that rice production from upstream to downstream can be more efficient.

"This irrigation is getting better, varieties are getting better and more and more. If so, at what stage do we need to improve again. I hope this is maintained the extraordinary results that have been produced, and also conveyed to the public," said Syahrul.

The Minister of Agriculture said that rice seeds played an important role in increasing rice productivity as one of the strategic staple foods in Indonesia and supporting rice exports.

In addition, good management of rice and rice can also reduce crop yields so that the yields obtained are better and provide high profits.