"A media organisation suggested that Indonesia has to follow Myanmar`s example if it wants to increase its paddy productivity. But what should we follow if paddy production there only reached 3.1 million tonnes annually, while we produce 5.1 million tonnes," he said during his speech at Bayumelek artificial insemination centre in Kediri subdistrict, West Lombok district, West Nusa Tenggara province, on Wednesday afternoon.
Suswono stated that Myanmar saw surplus rice production because the country`s population was much lower than that of Indonesia.
"Myanmar`s case is similar to that of Thailand, but one must remember that Indonesia`s population is almost four times larger their populations. Besides, Indonesian people eat more rice," he said.
Having said that, Indonesia does face a lot of paddy productivity issues, particularly land-related ones, Suswono pointed out.
"West Nusa Tenggara has a lot of land for cultivation, but there needs to be sufficient water supply," he noted.
"Indonesia must be able to produce and consume more local food because it has the necessary natural and human resources," Suswono stated.
"It is not impossible to achieve a rice surplus of 10 million tons and self-sufficiency in beef by 2014, as the President has called for, if the farmers are committed to these goals," he said.
Suswono expressed hope that more incentives would be provided to the farmers to help them achieve the nation`s production targets.
At the Bayumelek artificial insemination centre, he was accompanied by deputy for science utilization to the research and technology minister Idwan Suhadi, West Nusa Tenggara Governor TGH M Zainul Majdi, and other officials.
"Some calves are produced through artificial insemination here, while others have natural births," Suswono noted.
This is part of the `West Nusa Tenggara, The Land Of One Million Cows (BSS) program, the targets of which are to be met in 2013, he stated.
Suswono said the program was launched during the 50th anniversary of West Nusa Tenggara provincial administration, on December 17, 2008.
Annual production has increased by 7.6 percent or 546,114 cows, he continued.
Suswono stated that the West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Administration would cooperate with the Research and Technology Ministry in order to achieve the program`s targets.
(J010/KR-BSR/S012)
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
