Padang, West Sumatra (ANTARA) - Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo has said he is optimistic that Indonesia will become a world food barn by 2045 by utilizing existing natural resources with the help of technology.
"We have quite a good land and nature. By using technology, we can plant from the coast, lowlands, to highlands," he noted in Padang, West Sumatra, on Tuesday. He made the remarks while reviewing preparations for the XVI National Week of Indonesian Farmers and Fishermen (Penas Tani) in Padang. To realize Indonesia as a world food barn by 2045, all stakeholders must focus on determining a road map for the long term, Limpo stressed.
He said his optimism is also based on policies issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, which, in the past three years, have succeeded in increasing national rice production. Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture is also focusing on a pilot project to plant soybeans through the application of machinery technology.
According to him, Indonesia, especially its farmers, must gather the courage to change farming methods, as seen in a number of countries, by optimizing technology and machinery. Currently, the central government has tasked the West Sumatra provincial government, which has been appointed as the host of the XVI National Week of Indonesian Farmers and Fishermen, to conduct a pilot project on soybean seeds, which will later be expanded to all provinces.
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The minister said that the average size of onions and soybeans grown in Indonesia is relatively small, but the commodities have a better aroma when compared to soybeans from other countries. He further said he believes that if all parties work together, then the goal of realizing Indonesia as a world food barn by 2045 can be realized. "Let us achieve it. If we continue our food dependency, it will never end," he added.
