Bogor (ANTARA) - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said the 100 percent biodiesel program (B-100), now being developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, will save up to Rp100 trillion in foreign exchange once it is widely used.

"We can save foreign exchange, may be IDR 100 trillion or more," he said, after holding a 2019 Agricultural Development Planning Meeting (Musrenbangtan) in the city of Bogor, West Java, Tuesday.

According to Minister Sulaiman, the energy that will be used for diesel engines has been tested on 50 official cars and agricultural machinery (Alsintan). Temporary results indicate that the engine runs stable and tends to last longer.

"The engine is good, it is still stable. It can save up to 35 percent of energy, and it is environmentally friendly, not smoky," he said.

Amran said that if a vehicle using diesel fuel can travel a distance of 9 kilometers per liter, using B-100 it can travel 13.4 kilometers per liter.

In addition, Amran revealed a number of achievements of the Ministry of Agriculture when holding their 2019 Agricultural Development Planning Meeting (Musrenbangtan).

"We would like to thank all the heads of provincial and district / city offices throughout Indonesia for their participation in export productivity, fighting inflation and poverty, and then for our increase in exports," he said.

According to Amran, even though the Ministry of Agriculture's budget shrank from Rp. 32 trillion to Rp. 21 trillion, the agricultural sector might increase fruit yields due to carrying out the correct policies.

Meanwhile, policies that are considered unproductive and cannot encourage production growth will be eliminated, based upon instructions from President Joko Widodo.


In contrast, those programs that have shown positive results during the administration of President Jokowi will continue, in a bid to increase investments and exports.

(INE)

Translator: M. Fikri/Eliswan Azly
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019