A sorghum field in Indonesia (Photo: Internet) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province is developing into a growing and consumption area of sorghum – a kind of nutrient-rich cereal plant, contributing to dealing with the shortage of rice for stockpile in the country.
Talking with CNA newspaper on December 25, Maria Loretha, who has 10 years of experience in supporting farmers in growing sorghum in the province, said about 1,000 farmers have grown the plant in eight regencies there.
Sorghum is resilient to climate change as it can grow widely on fertile and infertile land with limited water, said Prof. Muhammad Azrai, a cereal plant expert at the Ministry of Agriculture, adding that replanting sorghum several times can even make the soil more fertile.
Under President Jokowi’s directions, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) is developing new varieties of sorghum in accordance with a roadmap till 2024.
The Ministry of Agriculture targeted planting 15,000ha of sorghum this year in East Nusa Tenggara and 200,000ha by 2024./.
