"Indonesia has made efforts to move towards modern agriculture. These efforts involve steps to lower the cost of production," Andi Amran Sulaiman said at a national seminar here on Tuesday.
In addition, the government has increased production and ensured farming throughout the region.
The government has also controlled the price of imported grain to protect domestic farmers.
"A shift towards modern agriculture will lead to an increase in production. The production has reached four million tons," he said.
According to him, various programs have been conducted by the government to improve Indonesians welfare.
With the current programs, he noted, the government did not have to import rice this year.
"Last year, we imported 800,000 tons of rice. Now, the current government does not import rice," he said.
The national seminar was also attended by National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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