President calls for efforts to achieve food self-sufficiency

Bandar Lampung (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on the people and those in the government to make every possible effort to enable the country to achieve food self-sufficiency.

"Holding protests (against food imports) and blaming each other are not enough if we all agree we should stop importing food, let us make every effort to increase food production," the president said at a function to mark the 27th World Food Day and the opening of Indonesian Food Expo 2007 at Way Halim square here on Wednesday.

The president said the government was committed to making the country self-sufficient in food, especially rice, corn and beef.

"To avoid importing food from other countries, we have to strive to attain food self-sufficiency. Therefore, let us take concrete steps to meet the standards of a food-resilient country," Yudhoyono said.

According to the president, a country could be said to be food-resilient if food was available in that country at prices affordable by its people.

He said the national program to step up national rice production by 2 million tons in 2007 was expected to be successful and would be implemented in better ways in the years to come.

House calls on govt to tighten control over meat, innards imports

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - House Commission IV legislators in charge of agriculture and food called on the government here on Tuesday to tighten control over meat and entrails imports.

"Commission IV has received many complaints on the imports of meat using innards import documents," Azwar Chesputra of the Golkar Party faction of the House of Representatives (DPR) said.

Mindo Sianipar of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction also made the same call, urging the government to prevent manipulations of meat and entrails import documents.

According to Azwar, a cartel, which consists of four or five companies, among others, PT Anzindo, PT Sumber Laut Perkasa, PT Indogama and PT Bumi Mastro Ayu, is now taking control of the meat imports in the country.

He said the fact they control meat imports also enables them to manipulate the documents easily.

Azwar said the allegation that meat imports had entered the country using innards import documents was true.

When the Commission IV members conducted an impromptu visit to the container terminal at Tanjung Priok seaport on Monday, they found illegal meat imports.

The impromptu visit was made by at least ten Commission IV members from different political party factions. They included Bomer Pasaribu of the Golkar Party, Azwar Chesputra, Hifnie Syarkawi of the United Development Party, Sudjud Surajudin of the National Mandate Party, Umung Anwar Sanusi of the Prosperous Justice Party and Gde Sumarjaya Linggih of the Golkar Party.

The visit was led by Commission IV Deputy Chairmen Mindo Sianipar of the PDI-P and Suswono of the Prosperous Justice Party.

Mindo said that the meat importers deliberately used entrails documents to avoid paying more import duties.

The government imposed a five percent import duty of the sales values on both meat and innards imports.

But because the price of meat was higher than that of entrails, the importers would gain more profits if they used innards documents for their meat imports.

Yudhoyono encourages farmers to increase paddy production

Gorontalo, Sulawesi (ANTARA News) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has encouraged farmers in paddy-producing provinces across the country to increase the paddy production.

"It is part of an effort to improve the people`s welfare through the increase of crop production, especially rice," President Yudhoyono said in a function to promote a national movement to increase national hybrid paddy production to 2 million tons this year at Pulubala village, Kota Tengah district, Gorontalo Province, northern Sulawesi, on Monday.

On the occasion the president was accompanied by First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Ma`ruf, Agriculture Minister Anto Apriantono, and Gorontalo Governor Fadel Muhammad.

Yudhoyono noted that government`s effort to improve crop production was conducted through concrete actions.

"Therefore, government`s responsibility to step up the people`s food resilience through concrete actions is neither a mere discourse nor an empty rhetoric," Yudhoyono noted.

He added that besides food, water and energy were also in the government priority to manage them properly to meet the people`s demand, as the country?s population continued to increase.

The president noted that harvest improvement for the farmers was the only way to have self-supporting in rice and to avoid its import.

"In order not to be haunted with rice import, we are committed to taking concrete actions in our effort to step up rice production to 2 million tons this year," Yudhoyono said.

Thus, he expressed hope that paddy-producing provinces such as East Java, Central Java, West Java, South Sumatra and Gorontalo should also be responsible in supporting the government?s efforts to produce 2 million tons of rice this year.

"If we remain cohesive and united, God`s will, we will be able to reach the target," the president said.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Anto Apriantono said the government was committed to realizing food self-sufficiency, especially rice, corn, soy bean and beef.