The Indonesian Government is pushing ahead with a plan to convert 1.4 million ha of peat swamps into rice fields (Photo: Reuters) Jakarta (VNA) - The Indonesian Government is pushing ahead with a plan to convert 1.4 million ha of peat swamps into rice fields as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to create food shortages across the country, according to Coordinating Minister of Economy Airlangga Hartarto.
The country is feeling the brunt of a food crisis as the coronavirus outbreak has severely disrupted domestic cultivation and food supplies.
The Government is set to expand rice farming areas through a peatland-to-ricefield project in Kalimantan. The initial goal of establishing about 900,000 ha of rice fields in the peatlands has been raised to 1.4 million ha, Hartarto said.
It is carefully looking into the plan, since only 90,000 out of the 1.4-million-ha peatland have irrigation systems. Most peatlands suitable for converting into rice fields are located in the districts of Pulang Pisau, Kapuas, and South Barito on Kalimantan.
Agricultural restructuring is among the national programmes prioritised by President Joko Widodo to bridge development gaps and improve living standards./.
VNA
