inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. The Agriculture Ministry assures the equal expansion of rice and corn fields across Indonesia through utilizing water pumping to rapidly increase production.

Director General of Food Crops of the ministry, Yudi Sastro, explained that the target for additional monthly planting reaches 1 million hectares. This includes rain-fed rice fields and land optimization, with several centers having harvested more than once.

"We are optimistic rice and corn can meet domestic needs with additional new land," he said on Wednesday (9/18/2024).

According to him, this effort is starting to bear fruit. Indonesia has just exported 50 thousand tons of corn from Gorontalo to the Philippines, after previously experiencing a shortage.

At the end of the opportunity, he added, the Ministry of Agriculture continues to improve services from regulations to the use of superior seeds. The government is also maximizing seed production and increasing the planting index, with a target of self-sufficiency to the world's food barn.

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