Bandung, W Java (ANTARA News) - The West Java provincial government will build a food center which will also function as a wholesale rice market to cut down the chain of national rice distribution, an official said on Thursday.
"West Java has rice barns, so why must the distribution of our rice depend on other regions? I am sure the food center will become a center of national rice distribution," West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan said.
West Java has a number of potential rice barns in Cirebon, Indramayu, Subang, Karawang, and Bekasi.
"The embryo of food center in Pantura (West Java's northern coastal area) has been there, such as in Indramayu and Subang. It is expected the soon-to-be-formed institution can play a role in rice distribution in the future," he said.
Currently, the Cipinang wholesale rice market plays a role in setting the national rice prices and the distribution of the staple.
According to the results of a research conducted by the Bandung-based Padjadjaran University, some 80 percent of the rice in the wholesale rice market is supplied by West Java, he said.
West Java supplies about 594,742 tons of rice to the Cipinang wholesale rice market per year, he said.
"Once the food center becomes operational, it will increase local farmers' living standards. They will have a strong bargaining power in setting the prices," Heryawan told.
To increase the productivity of paddy field in West Java, he said the province will set aside Rp1.1 trillion in funds to repair irrigation networks in 2009.
The project is particularly aimed at handling water shortages faced by farm land of types III and IV which only produce rice once a year due to the water shortages, he said.
"By doing so, the paddy field of types II and IV can produce rice at least twice a year," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment