Self-sufficiency in rice and other staple commodities should be reached and maintained because Indonesia must be safe in food.
Tenggarong, East Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Vice President Boediono has said Indonesia should maintain its food security and therefore it was absolutely necessary to increase food production.

"Self-sufficiency in rice and other staple commodities should be reached and maintained because Indonesia must be safe in food," the vice president said at a function to open the Farmers-Fishermen National Week 2011 (Penas 2011) at Kutai Kartanegara district town of Tenggarong in East Kalimantan on Saturday.

He said Indonesia and other countries face the same challenge of food security and the problem, according to the vice president, was how a country could provide enough food to meet demand that was ever increasing at a fast rate.

According to the vice president, domestic food availability should continue to be maintained and the prices should be kept stable in order to be affordable by all people.

In such a global situation, Vice President Boediono said Indonesia had to secure its food supply as much as possible.

"Food prices are getting more unstable and increasing more and more, and increasingly difficult to anticipate. Such situations complicate all parties: producers, consumers, and the governments of developing countries alike," the vice president said.

Meanwhile, the National Farmers-Fishermen`s Week 2011 that runs from June 18 to 23 will be participated in by around 30,000 people, consisting of farmers and fishermen, government officials, agribusiness makers, businessmen, experts, and agriculture and fisheries extension officers.

Farmers and fishermen from Japan and several Southeast Asian countries will also be present to exchange information about agricultural development in a broader sense.

The opening ceremony of the Penas 2011 is also attended by Agriculture Minister Suswono, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, East Kamlimantan Governor Awang Faroek Ishak, Kutai Kartanegara district head Rita Widyasari, and Penas 2011 organizing committee chairman Winarno Tohir.

Initiated in 1971, the national week of farmers and fishermen is intended to step up the motivation of farmers, fishermen, and agribusiness makers to develop sustainable and competitive agribusinesses through mutually beneficial partnerships. ***5***



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Editor: Ella Syafputri
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