Sukabumi, W Java (ANTARA News) - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has claimed that the national gross domestic product (GDP) from the agricultural sector has increased significantly to almost half of the state budget since President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) took office in October 2014.

"During the early days of Jokowi`s government in 2014, the GDP in the agricultural sector stood at only Rp900 trillion. But it rose to Rp1,460 trillion in 2018. The GDP has been rarely exposed even if it increased significantly during the present government," he stated on the sidelines of his working visit to Sukabumi district, West Java, on Thursday.

In the past five years, the GDP rose about Rp400 trillion up to Rp500 trillion. Cumulatively, the GDP between 2014 and 2019 reached Rp1,370 trillion. This is an extraordinary and sharp increase although farm commodities were only limited to rice and corn.

As a matter of fact, the Agriculture Ministry managed 460 kinds of commodities. Overall, the GDP in the agricultural sector increased to more than half of the state budget every year, he noted.

The public must know that the agricultural sector is one of the biggest contributors to the GDP. Of course, the increase in the GDP is inseparable from the program and effort of Jokowi, who wants to see farmers lead a prosperous life and their income continuing to increase.

The GDP is related to the increase in the export of farm commodities, including mangosteen which climbed up to 300 percent.

Reporting by Aditia Aulia Rohman, Suharto

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