Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’sMinistry of Agriculture (MoA) has collaborated with the UN Food and AgricultureOrganisation (FAO) to launch a programme to support farmers in West Kalimantanto adopt organic methods for rice production.
The programme is part of the IndonesianGovernment’s plan to establish 1,000 organic villages.
The organic village model is one of the nationaldevelopment priorities, which is focused on promoting the economic independenceof key domestic sectors.
According to Gatut Sumbogodjati, Director ofProcessing and Marketing of Food Crops under the MoA, organic produce is becomingan alternative food option for Indonesian people, though it is not yet consumedon a large scale.
The programme will be run over two years inrice-growing villages in West Kalimantan, where selected farmer groups willadopt new farming methods, he said.
Stephen Rudgard, FAO representative inIndonesia, said that the organisation supports the shift to organic productionagriculture for the health of the ecosystem.
This system will help reduce potentially harmfulenvironmental and social impacts by eliminating the use of inputs such assynthetic fertilisers and pesticides, or genetically modified varieties.
The programme is prioritised in the border area,which has great potential to access to export markets like Malaysia.
It is also part of the Indonesian Government’sefforts to increase incomes in border communities. –VNA