Gerindra Party presidential hopeful Prabowo Subianto said in a campaign rally at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Central Jakarta on Sunday that Indonesia must become a nation that was able to meet the needs of its people without depending on imports.
“The Indonesian people have vast agricultural areas, but we still have to import cassava, corn, garlic and papaya from other countries. Under the leadership of Gerindra, Indonesia must become a producer, instead of consumer,” said Prabowo, who is also the party’s chief patron, as quoted by Antara news agency.
Meanwhile, agricultural expert I Gede Sedana said the government needed to protect Indonesia’s agriculture sector by, among others things, stopping the import of various commodities.
“Importing should be done only in an emergency situation such as during natural disasters and during a domestic rice supply shortage,” said Gede Sedana, who is also the dean of the University of Dwijendra’s School of Agriculture in Denpasar, Bali.
According to him, such a food protection policy would be closely related to the government’s policy to subsidize rice production and agricultural infrastructure.
“If the subsidy policy manages to increase both land and crop productivity, then the rice import policy could be automatically tackled,” said Gede Sedana.
He went on to say that agricultural insurance was needed to protect local farmers, as Indonesia was prone to harvest failures caused by natural calamities, such as flooding, landslides, pest and plant diseases and volcanic eruptions.
Source/Fuente: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/23/indonesia-must-become-self...
