Indonesia will increase the area of agricultural land by 3 mln ha, but will not cut down trees
The future President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, who will take office on October 20, plans to increase the area under food crops by 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres) within 5 years as part of the country’s self-sufficiency program.
Currently, agricultural land in Indonesia occupies 7.4 million hectares, which is 8.5% less than in 2015 (8.08 million hectares), as some of the land was converted to housing and industrial areas.
The increase in sown areas by 3 million hectares will allow sowing rice, corn and soybeans and ensure the country’s food supply for the coming decades.
Environmentalists fear that the expansion of cultivated areas could lead to deforestation in Indonesia’s last remaining untouched forests, particularly in the eastern region of Papua. However, the country’s authorities say that they will not cut down trees, but will try to drain the swampy lands to plant them with rice.
Earlier this year, Indonesia converted about 100 thousand hectares of swamps in the province of South Sumatra into rice fields to increase rice production.
According to forecasts, in 2024, rice production in the country will reach 30.86 million tons, while the demand for it is at least 31.21 million tons. Therefore, the government approved a quota for imports of 3.6 million tons of rice in 2024.
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