Minister Of Agriculture Amran: Government Prepares 1 Million Hectares Of Land To Support Sugar Self-Sufficiency

Minister of Agriculture, Andi Amran Sulaiman. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The government has prepared one million hectares of land in Papua for domestic and foreign investors who are interested in building factories to support the target of self-sufficiency in sugar in Indonesia.

"If 1 million hectares can be a lot of companies there, maybe one sugar factory needs 20-40 hectares of land with a capacity of 12,000 TCD," said Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman after a limited meeting with President Joko Widodo about sugar self-sufficiency at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Tuesday 12 December.

According to Amran, the government does not limit the number of domestic and foreign investors who want to build factories in Papua, to accelerate sugar self-sufficiency.

"Yes, the self-sufficiency plan. If we build maybe 20-30 units of sugar factories with a capacity of 12,000 TCD, we can only self-sufficiency," he said.

Based on his experience building 10 units of sugar factories under President Jokowi's instructions, Amran said that investment to build a sugar factory with a capacity of 12,000 TCD is around Rp. 2.5 trillion to Rp. 3 trillion and takes up to three years.

Although claiming that there are already companies that have started planting sugarcane seeds in Papua, Amran said Indonesia's journey to self-sufficiency in sugar is still long because sugar cane is an annual plant whose seeds need to be cultivated gradually.

"Tebu is an annual plant that we have to follow the stages starting from KBN, KBP, KBI, KBD, to sugarcane mills because these seeds must be pure and good. If we fail to be seeded, we will fail to be sugarcaneed later," said the Minister of Agriculture.

In addition to having to adjust the local agricultural climate, the stages of planting sugarcane seeds themselves take more than three years.

Amran explained that sugar factories in Papua are expected to be built with modern technology, so that they can support the sugar productivity produced.

"Like in India, there is production of up to 150 tons per hectare, while we have an average of 60-70 tons nationally. The most important thing is how we look for superior seeds, which can produce at least 100 tons per hectare," said Minister Amran.