Indonesian Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman expressed optimism that the country will become the world food barn by 2028, and is determined to convert swamp areas into agricultural land.

Illustrative image (Photo: https://www.globalissues.org/)

Speaking at an recent event in Jakarta, Amran said Indonesia will develop swamp areas into agricultural land with a target of 1 million ha next year.

This area will help produce 2.5 million tonnes of rice per year in an effort to reduce imports, he said, noting that this goal will gradually increase over the years to turn Indonesia into a world food barn in the 2029-2033 period.

Amran, who served as Minister of Agriculture in 2014-2019 and was reappointed to this position on October 25, plans to develop 6 million ha of agricultural land to produce 80 million tonnes of rice.

The official said the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture has proposed additional budget to realise this programme.

According to Director General of Food Crops Suwandi, Indonesia really has great potential in using swamp land as agricultural land, mainly in the provinces of South Sumatra, South Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, and Central Kalimantan.

Source: VNA