Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon
West Java sugarcane farmers have asked the government to fulfill its promise to revamp sugar mills in the province and to increase sugarcane farmlands to meet the country's domestic needs.
Anwar Amali, chairman of West Java's Indonesian Sugarcane Farmers Association, said three of five sugar mills in West Java were already more than one hundred years old and in need of repair.
"The three sugar mills, which need to be urgently revitalized, are the ones in Karang Suwung, Tersana Baru and Sindang Laut," Anwar said.
The sugarcane farmers first asked the government five years ago to assist with improving their mills, but received no response.
Anwar said their welfare depended on the operational feasibility of the mills.
The association represents 13,157 sugarcane farmers in West Java who work on 12,372 hectares of farmlands in Cirebon, Majalengka, Kuningan, Indramayu, Subang and Sumedang.
Anwar said Vice President Muhammad Jusuf Kalla visited Jatitujuh sugar mill in Majalengka in June to tell sugarcane farmers the government would revamp 52 sugar mills throughout Indonesia.
The government said it had provided Rp 5 trillion to finance the revitalization program that would last for around three years.
Anwar said the country could achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production by 2009 if the government fulfilled its promise.
"But to fulfill the national sugar self-sufficiency the government should (also) expand the farmlands as soon as possible."
The national demand for sugar is estimated at 3.3 million tons per annum, comprising 2.5 million tons for human consumption and 800,000 tons for industrial use, Anwar said.
But Indonesia uses 350,000 hectares of sugarcane farmland to support a national production of 2.3 million tons of sugar, so the country must import the balance.
Anwar said the country needed to expand sugarcane farmlands to 750,000 hectares and the country would need to create some 400,000 hectares of new sugarcane farmland.
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