Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian government is planning to purchase soybeans produced by local farmers at Rp10 thousand (US$0.67) per kilogram to get more farmers to plant soybeans for the domestic market.
Head of the National Food Agency, Arief Prasetyo Adi, said that the Rp10 thousand price will also ensure the profitability of soybean farmers.
"There will also be a minimum purchasing price for farmers who plant soybeans to ensure that soybean farmers make a profit. If profitable, farmers will indeed be motivated to plant soybeans," Adi informed here on Tuesday.
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The State Logistics Board (Bulog) and state-owned holding company ID Food and its subsidiaries are expected to be the off-takers of domestic soybeans, he disclosed.
"Today, the (soybean) price in the CBOT Chicago Board, if converted to rupiah, is Rp7,700 (US$0.51) per kilogram, while we want the purchase price for our farmers at Rp10 thousand. We will monitor this and be prompt because we want to boost the domestic soybean production," the agency head explained.
Adi said that currently, domestic soybean production is less than 250 tons annually despite the nationwide soybean demand reaching 2 million tons per year.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has also directed that efforts be taken to increase soybean productivity from 1–1.5 tons per hectare to 3–5 tons per hectare, he said.
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The government is also encouraging the utilization of genetically modified (GMO) soybean plants to increase productivity, particularly as currently imported soybeans are mostly GMOs.
The Agriculture Ministry will also plant soybeans on 600 thousand hectares, with the first phase of the planting taking place on 350 thousand hectares of farmlands, he added.
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