FOOD ESTATE PROJECTS MUST NOT CONTRIBUTE TO DEFORESTATION, WARN EXPERTS by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 28/3/2021 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government last year started developing a food estate project in Pulang Pisau district, Central Kalimantan province to ensure national food security and resilience amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

While it is currently spread over 30 thousand hectares of land, the size of the food estate will be extended over the next two years.

 

Now, the food estate project has been expanded to several other regions such as North Sumatra, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), South Sumatra, Papua, and Riau.

 

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on February 23, 2021 reviewed the implementation of a food estate project in Central Sumba district, NTT. Currently spread over five thousand hectares comprising three thousand hectares of rice and two thousand hectares of corn fields, the estate will be eventually expanded to 10 thousand hectares to comprise 5,600 hectares of rice and 4,400 hectares of corn fields.

 

During his visit, Widodo said he is optimistic the food estate will encourage rice farmers in Central Sumba to harvest rice twice a year, and corn and soybean once a year.

 

"As per data I have received, 34 percent of the residents in Central Sumba live in poverty and farmers harvest rice only once a year. We want them to harvest rice twice a year and corn or soybean once a year," Widodo said.

 

To scale up the irrigation system for farming, the government has built a number of reservoirs and dams in NTT, an arid province that often bears the brunt of water shortages.

Government links food security to national defense by Fardah

Jakarta, July 16, 2020 (ANTARA) - The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has cautioned that the COVID-19 pandemic is posing a serious threat to food security and nutrition, and has urged governments and other stakeholders to build more resilient food systems.

As a precautionary measure, the Indonesian Government is developing a food estate project in Kapuas district and Belanti Siam village in Pulang Pisau district, Central Kalimantan province, under the National Strategic Program (PSN), which is to be implemented within the next three years.
 

In 2020, at least 30 thousand hectares of land will be made available for the project, and the land size will be expanded over the next two years.

The President has assigned three ministers — Defense Minister Prabowo Susanto, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, and State Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir — to implement the program, with the support of other ministers.

The Ministry of Defense is leading the program to build food reserves and will be responsible for boosting resilience for food security.

"Yesterday, I told you that the food estate development is being conducted in response to an FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) warning of a global food crisis. Hence, we need to take precautionary measures quickly by preparing strategic food reserves," President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) told the press on July 13, 2020.

Jokowi has justified his decision to task the Defense Minister with leading the implementation of the national food estate program.

"Defense does not only concern 'alutsista' (primary weaponry defense system), but also boosting resilience in the food sector, which is part of it (national security). The Defense Minister has already submitted the cost calculations and the amount of budget required to develop a food estate in Kapuas and Pulang Pisau," Jokowi said. 

"The Minister of Agriculture will back it (the project). Other agricultural and food related matters still come under the authority of the Agriculture Minister," Jokowi noted.

The food estate is not meant as a rice field opening program, but refers to the development of a food center, explained Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, spokesperson for the Defense Minister. 

The food estate will serve as a center for agricultural and strategic logistical reserves, which are crucial for supporting national defense. 

Besides rice, centers of other crops, such as cassava and corn, will also be developed, depending on land conditions, the Defense Minister’s spokesperson said.