Researchers in Taiwan produce green soybean tofu

Want China Times, CNA 2014-07-31

Soybean plants at the research center, Feb. 26, 2013.

 (Photo courtesy of Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research

and Extension Station)

It is usually a sign that food has gone bad when it turns green, but researchers in southern Taiwan are proud to have developed a new kind of tofu made from green soybeans which they say could boost Taiwan's NT$2 billion (US$66.3 million) of annual green soybean exports.

Researchers with the Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station said Wednesday that the new take on tofu, which has a slight green hue, maintains the unique flavor of green soybeans that is not found in traditional tofu, which is made from mature soybeans.

"We're developing many products made of green soybeans, aiming to add value to the crop and offer new options for consumers," said Chen Cheng-min, an assistant researcher at the station.

Green soybeans are a major agricultural export for Taiwan and could see a boost if the product catches on.

Local farmers harvest some 42,000 metric tons of saleable green soybean products such as edamame each year, according to Chen.

The vast majority — 30,000 tons — goes to Japan. But exports dropped slightly last year to US$68.59 million off of a record high of US$71.6 million in 2012, according to official statistics.

Chen said the green tofu was "quite difficult" to develop as young soybeans have fewer protein gels than mature.

It is not the first time the Kaohsiung research station has done creative tinkering with green soybeans. They previously developed beans with flavors of taro root and managed to make soymilk out of the immature beans.

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Indonesia pledges to `feed the world'

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 01/30/2010 12:54 PM

Indonesia has reiterated its commitment to becoming a major global food producer by boosting the production of 15 key food commodities.

Fransiscus Wilerang, head of the Permanent Committee for Food Resilience at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said Friday that the successful implementation of the program could contribute at least US$101.5 billion to the country's revenues for the 2010-2014 period.

The 15 food commodities, Fransiscus said, included four "strategic" ones - rice, corn, sugar and soybeans - and six "key" commodities, consisting of palm oil, tea, coffee, cocoa, tuna and shrimp.

Other categories are "nutritious" (beef and poultry), and "local popular" products (mangos, bananas and oranges).

The 10 strategic and key commodities are part of the government's 2009-2014 road map for food development.

The plan aims to, among others, allow domestic crude palm oil (CPO) producers to expand their plantations from the total 7.9 million hectares as of the end of 2009, to 9.7 million hectares by 2015.

The expansion is expected to help boost CPO production to 36.6 million tons.

Production of another key crop, coffee, is expected to reach 737,000 tons this year, or 142 percent more than domestic consumption.

Under the road map, the 433,000-ton surplus will be exported.

Coffee exports are expected to increase by 4.69 percent annually until 2020, when 636,000 tons of the total production of 973,000 tons is expected to be exported.

"Considering Indonesia's potential to achieve food self-sufficiency, we have to see the global food crisis as an opportunity and participate in efforts to supply food for the world," Fransiscus told hundreds of participants at the "Feed the World" seminar, organized by Kadin.

"We've agreed to develop the idea into a concept of food self-sufficiency and supply food for the world, or *Feed the World'."

At a press conference after the seminar, Kadin deputy chairman Franky Widjaja said the revenue from the 15 commodities could amount to $101.5 billion.

"If we manage to promote this at the downstream level in the next five years, this could more than just a dream," he said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who officiated the seminar and subsequent expo, said it was important for Indonesia to help address the world's food security issues, pointing out the consequences for not doing so could include the incitement of conflicts, as with water or energy issues.

He said to help achieve the "Feed the World" goal, the government would continue the first wave of its farming, plantation and fishery revitalization programs, lasting from 2004 to 2009, with the second phase set for the next five years.

Yudhoyono added that while Indonesia needed to maintain self-sufficiency in rice and corn production, it needed to achieve the same self-sufficiency in sugar production while reducing its dependence on imported soybeans.

He also reminded businesses not to neglect demand from the domestic market for the sake of more lucrative markets overseas.

"Why feed the world if we still have problems with food supplies and price instability at home," he said.

"The program **Feed the World'* should be understood as *Feed Indonesia, then feed the world'."

Investment Coordinating Board chairman Gita Wirjawan told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the government would categorize main staple foods such as rice and corn among the types of commodities that foreign interests would be restricted from investing in.

"These commodities are key to our national security, so it is within our interests to protect them," he said.

Bioethanol RI's golden ticket: Panigoro

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung 

Prominent businessman and founder of gas and oil company Medco Group, Arifin Panigoro (photo, right), said biofuel was a future alternative energy that could help Indonesia survive the energy crisis. 

"Indonesia cannot be wasteful anymore in using fuel as currently we only have a limited amount of fuel," Arifin said in a public lecture at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) on Friday. 

Arifin said there were 47 million hectares of semi-uncultivated land and 77 million hectares of uncultivated land in Indonesia that could be used for developing bioethanol, an alternative to fossil fuels. The raw materials for bioethanol can also be used for food. 

He said the Medco Foundation had initiated planting sugar cane, corn, soybean and sorghum on 20 hectares of neglected land in Papua during the past two years. 

Arifin called on the government to immediately make a clear regulation on alternative energy, especially bioethanol, in preparation for the boom in land use for this purpose during the next three years. 

"The government has to manage the allocation of food crops that will be converted to energy so it will not disturb food resilience," Arifin said. 

He also called on the government to seriously think about farming zone management, including preparing the infrastructure to support the future business, such as establishing distribution pipes and constructing airports and harbors. 

Arifin, an ITB graduate, said he expected the business would create many jobs.

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'Food resilience council lacks coordination'

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Food Resilience Council, working directly under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono since late 2006, has come under fire for handling recent food shortages ineffectively.

Indonesian Farming Council head Ferry J. Julianto demanded the government revamp the council immediately to prevent further mismanagement of the nation's agricultural planning and implementation.

Speaking at a seminar on the food resilience program in Jakarta on Monday, Ferry said the umbrella organization had stumbled because it lacked a game plan for coordinating the policies of the government bodies involved.

Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri established the council in 2001 as a platform for formulating, implementing and evaluating food stock policy.

President Yudhoyono formalized the council's function in 2006 through a presidential regulation under which the president sits as council head and is assisted by 18 ministers. The council also has more than 200 representatives across the country.

Ferry pointed to a lack of teamwork. "It seems these ministries have their own agendas and work alone without coordinating with one other," Ferry said.

"The government should restructure the council and set up a clear coordination scheme."

Fachri Andi Laluasa, a Golkar lawmaker with the House of Representative's Commission IV on food production, concurred, saying said the council was no more than a showcase body, producing few results.

"The coordination among the ministries is weak, causing the implementation of recommended plans to not work as expected," he said during the seminar.

According to Ferry, the failure of the council to properly implement planning had caused food stock shortages that triggered unrest in many areas across Indonesia in the past couple of years.

"Rice production has been decreasing by 1.2 million tons since last year and we have had to import up to 60 percent of the soybeans we consume," Ferry said.

He said the government's policy of importing staple foods had caused farmers to suffer, as they could not compete with lower-priced imports.

"Local farmers have stopped planting soybeans because they are afraid of the competition and that the government will not protect them," Ferry said.

Agricultural Minister Anton Apriyantono defended the government's importation of staple foods, which he said did not necessarily indicate a food crisis.

"We've imported staple foods like rice, maize, soybeans, meat and sugar to secure our stocks, not because we lack those foods," he told the seminar.

He said the objective was to see the country's food deficits remain low in comparison with other developing countries, citing data from the Food and Agricultural Organization. (dia)

Govt adds Rp1 trillion to budget allocation for agriculture

Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - Agriculture Minister Anton Apriantono said the government had allocated Rp1 trillion more in state budget funds for agricultural development.

The funds will particularly be spent on procurements of paddy, corn and soybean seeds, organic fertilizers, and pesticides, the minister said here on Saturday when speaking at the 38th anniversary of the Plantation Education Institute (LPP).

"However, most of the funds will be allocated for soybean because consumers want soybean at affordable prices, although farmers want a proper price," he said.

The government would help intensify soybean production by farmers and also assist them in marketing their produce, he said.

Time for alternative basic foods: Minister

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Amid high prices in some of the country's key commodities such as soybeans and rice, Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said Wednesday it was time for Indonesians to consume alternative commodities such as corn, cassava and other types of beans on a daily basis.

Fahmi said he had asked the food industry to produce more foods from such alternative commodities.

"It is time to reintroduce these alternative foods nationwide. We should not rely on one type of food only, for example rice, as our basic food," Fahmi said during the opening of an exhibition on alternative foods and their supporting technologies.

He said corn and cassava could substitute for rice, while koro beans could substitute for soybeans to produce tempeh.

"But for now, the ingredients to produce tempeh are still mixed, some 40 percent is koro bean while the remainder is soybean," he added.

Instant and small-thin noodles that use wheat flour as their main ingredient, Fahmi said, could now also be substituted with corn essence.

"We've found new basic commodities," said Fahmi. "The next thing is how to produce foods of good quality to meet people's tastes. Consumer taste is the key to successfully promoting these new commodities."

A pioneer of corn-based noodles in Indonesia, PT Subafood Pangan Jaya, produces instant and thin-small noodles to give the public alternative basic foods.

Promotion supervisor Agus Sujarwo told The Jakarta Post at the exhibition that the company has manufactured noodles made from corn essence since 2004.

Currently, the company's daily production reaches 3 tons of noodles.

Agus said that although the company's production capacity was small compared to big players like Indofood, Subafood's products were distributed nationwide. (nkn)

Consumers protest commodity price rise

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Housewives have protested the soaring prices of basic commodities which have left traditional markets and shopping centers empty, nationwide.

Nurin Agustion, a 35-year-old mother of two young children in Pundak Payung, Semarang, said she could only afford 15 kilograms of rice where previously she could get 20. She said she has bought more local fish than meat or chicken and has reduced her usage of cooking oil because of the soaring prices of commodities including meat, palm oil, fruit and vegetables.

"I can not increase my daily budget because my husband's monthly income has not been raised. I have to manage our monthly budget carefully so that we can survive this difficult situation," she told The Jakarta Post.

Traditional markets and shopping centers, including department stores and malls in urban areas in Central Java, have substantially quietened since the 2006 earthquake which shook the province and Yogyakarta.

"Following the quake many rice-belt areas in the two provinces could not meet their rice production targets," National Logistics Agency (Bulog) local office chief Indiarto said.

"This condition has been worsened by the soaring price of soybeans, the raw materials for tempeh and tofu, two primary foods in Java," he said.

Menik, A fishmonger at Depok Beach in Yogyakarta, said her sales had dropped by 50 percent over the past few weeks with the lack of buyers following the soaring prices of basic commodities in the province.

"Before the price increases, my sales were around Rp 1 million a day but recently it has dropped to around Rp 500,000. I could earn on the average of Rp 40,000 a day," she told the Post.

Depok fishermen said they had to increase fish prices by 20 percent due to the soaring price of rare fuels, especially kerosene.

They said the prices could be stabilized if the government guaranteed the distribution of fuel to rural areas in the province.

Darmi, another fish trader, said she could understand the quiet fish market on the beach with the increased prices of all commodities which had weakened people's purchasing power.

Sumarti, a rice vendor at Beringhardjo traditional market in Yogyakarta, said the market was crowded for only a few hours in the morning but then became silent in the afternoons.

The price of C-4 rice rose to from Rp 5,300 to Rp 5,600 per liter, while regular cooking oil rose from Rp 9,000 to almost Rp 12,000 a liter.

The price of wheat flour went from Rp 5,500 to Rp 7,000 per kilogram.

"The price hikes have a lot to do with increased cost of transportation and have been triggered by the soaring prices of rice, eggs, chickens and soybeans," Sumarti said.

The Post correspondent in Batam, Riau Islands, reported that the price of consumption commodities had continued to soar in line with price increases in other provinces, despite the island's status as free-trade zone.

Local trade and industry office chief Achmad Hijazi said the prices of basic commodities in the province were similar to other provinces because all consumption commodities were supplied to the island from regions under government supervision and regulation.

"Local authorities are not allowed to import rice or other basic commodities directly from Vietnam, to maintain the price of basic commodities and protect local products," he said, adding that the soaring prices had affected the livelihoods of low-income earners on the island.

Simple soybean solution from scientists

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Tempeh and tofu would not have disappeared from the family dining room, as it did this week, if the country's government had listened to Indonesia's scientists.

The archipelago would have been able to stop importing soybeans from the U.S. and would probably even be exporting a high-yield protein-rich bean to other countries.

"Perhaps we didn't have the time to pay attention to soybeans then," said Endang Sukara, deputy chairman of the natural sciences department of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).

But in 2004 and after successfully breeding "newly improved" soybeans, LIPI scientists invited then-President Megawati and her agriculture officials to see their high-yield harvest in South Sumatra.

Endang wasn't joking when he said the soybeans had added value.

Kedelai Plus, the new improved variety, was able to produce up to three times the yield compared to regular soybeans and required less than half the amount of fertilizer.

"We told the government all about it, and they were there during the harvesting at Musi Rawas in South Sumatra," Endang said at LIPI's Center for Biotechnology Research in Cibinong, West Java.

"But they never followed it up."

To create Kedelai Plus, a team of scientists, led by Harmastini Sukiman, isolated hundreds of Rhizobiums, a microbe that binds Nitrogen from the ground for soybean roots to absorb.

They then discovered one special string called Rhizobium B64.

"The strain worked really well for soybeans by boosting productivity and improving the plants' resistance to diseases," Harmastini said.

"Soybean plants produce more beans using B64."

The scientists grew Kedelai Plus in many areas across Indonesia, including South Sumatra, North Sumatra, West Java and East Java, with outstanding results.

Farmers in Indonesia can produce on average up to 1.2 tons of soybeans per hectare, but in every harvest Kedelai Plus was yielding 2.4 to 4.5 tons per hectare.

The team discovered a way to inject the microbe into the soybean, which meant farmers no longer had to glue the microbe onto the bean skin, or sprinkle it across the soil.

"Rhizobiums grow abundantly in the soil, so for Rhizobium B64 to survive the competition, we must make sure there are enough B64 cells for the soybean roots to absorb," Harmastini said.

With the help of a special vacuuming machine, LIPI was able to turn any type of soybean variety into Kedelai Plus with similar results.

Endang said he was confident the new technology would see Indonesia end its dependency on expensive, imported American soybeans.

"All the government needs to do now is up-scale the machine and produce Kedelai Plus in various seed centers so that farmers can purchase them at affordable prices," he said.

Endang said he has been dreaming of a day when he could drink soybean milk, snack on soybean yogurt and have a tempeh burger for lunch, all made from domestic soybeans.

But for the time being, farmers wishing to plant "newly improved" soybeans can bring their own seeds to LIPI in Cibinong to be injected with Rhizobium B64 at a cost of Rp 50,000 (US$ 5.30) for 20 kilograms of soybean seed. (lva)

Unique healthfood of Indonesia eaten by millions

The Jakarta Post, Jonathan Agranoff

Part of Indonesia's culinary heritage, and now a healthfood for the West, tempeh is unique amongst soy foods and has been an important part of the Indonesian diet for hundreds of years.

Native to Indonesia, it is found throughout the archipelago and eaten by millions, but until recently was almost unknown out of the country.

Now, research in food science and nutrition has shown this food to be unique amongst vegetarian foods, and already popular among vegetarians in the U.S. and Australia.

Any visitor to an Indonesian market or dinner table will almost certainly come across tempeh, though wonder what on earth it really is. Closely resembling a Camembert cheese in color and texture with a mushroom-like aroma, tempeh is in fact one of the world's first soybean foods. It is composed of cooked soybeans that have been fermented through by an edible fungus which, when mature (like a cheese) becomes an attractive and aromatic white cake suitable for a variety of uses in hundreds of local dishes.

In fact, in a country where meat is expensive and often of dubious quality, tempeh is an excellent high protein substitute to meat or fish, without the need for scrupulous hygiene or expensive refrigeration.

When scientists first began undertaking research in food and nutrition in Indonesia, tempeh revealed itself as an important component of the native diet. Moreover, the method of production was itself considered an ingenious process of applied microbiology and became the focus of attention in several laboratories in the U.S. by both American and Indonesian researchers.

One of the earliest documented records of the nutritional importance of tempeh was its significance during the second world war in Asia. Here, tempeh was known to the prisoners of the Japanese in prison camps in Java, many of whom suffered from dysentery and were unable to digest most of what little food they had. Boiled soybeans were virtually indigestible to them. Only tempeh, with its high digestibility was able to be assimilated and the food reportedly saved the lives of many Dutch and British prisoners of war in Java. It was smuggled through the fence by the local Javanese and those who survived have attributed it to the tempeh they managed to sustain themselves with.

Nutritionally, tempeh represents a food rich in protein (the same quantity and nearly the same quality as beef because of its high digestibility) but unlike beef, contains no cholesterol or saturated fats that current evidence links to heart disease in the "affluent" West. It also contains a certain vitamin (B12) that is normally only found in animal products and milk.

In this respect tempeh is unique as a vegetarian food without the accompanying disadvantages of many unpalatable "meat substitutes" of poor texture and flavor.

It is also very easy to digest due to the fermentation and very suitable in small quantities for babies or those with malabsorption diseases. In fact, one of the latest nutritional findings has been the use of a tempeh-based formula weaning food in Indonesian primary health centers to successfully treat infants suffering from stomach infections and dehydration. A natural antibacterial compound has been identified and is still being studied. Research has found that rabbits fed high tempeh diets show increased resistance to infection and raise their antibody levels, suggesting interaction with the immune system. Basically, tempeh represents a cheap form of good quality protein and other nutrients, many essential to a healthy diet, that is readily available and is therefore well suited to a developing nation as a local high quality food resource that is cheap to buy and use.

The craft of tempeh making is passed on through generations of tempeh making families, in much the same way as that of beer brewing or cheese making. Tempe is manufactured in a way that is more like the work of a microbiology laboratory than a village household; the tropical climate serves well as an incubator with constant temperatures day and night.

Basically, tempeh is made from cooked soybeans that have been inoculated with a special starter culture of fungal spores, packed into banana leaves (although the ever popular plastic bag has taken over from the traditional banana leaves) and then left to ferment. During this time, a luxuriant growth of white mold grows through to knit together the beans and turn them into tempeh.

Fermented foods in Southeast Asia, especially tempeh, have an important role to play in rural development and by providing employment and generating income for investment in the rural economy.

Tempeh-making is a labor-intensive industry; a clear advantage in a country with serious over population and urban employment problems. Nationwide cottage industries like tempeh-making are vital to maintain profitable rural employment opportunities that help to stem rural to urban migration that is so typical a cause of city poverty in tropical developing countries.

Moreover, tempeh manufacture in Indonesia is very well suited to the technological environment of the country, having evolved over hundreds of years and uses all locally available home grown ingredients; domestic skills with no dependence to the purchase of tools or skills from abroad.

In fact, tempeh has been considered as a food for Africa where technology transfer may play an important role. Indeed, what has been a Javanese village tradition since ancient times may yet hold a high potential for the future.

Soybean debacle highlights government mismanagement

Rendi Akhmad Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

At the start of his presidential term four years ago, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to put the agriculture sector at the top of his agenda with the aim of reaching self-sufficiency in producing strategic commodities.

A ceremony costing US$50,000 was even held in mid-2005 to promote his administration's seriousness to revitalize the sector, which is the income backbone for more than 70 million people living in rural areas around the country.

These efforts, however, proved to be futile. The recent soybean debacle, which sent the price of the commodity spiraling out of control, clearly signaled mismanagement in the country's agriculture and trade sector.

"There is a growing ineptitude within the administration to foresee problems. They should have been able to anticipate the skyrocketing price of soybeans and prepare the necessary measures to weather it," said agriculture analyst H.S. Dillon on Wednesday.

Indeed, the government should have spotted a growing trend that food, especially agriculture produce, would become more expensive globally; as demand rises faster than the supply, which is becoming limited due to decreasing farmland and bad harvests.

The increase in soybean prices, which began to climb steadily to $13 a bushel since early January last year at the Chicago Board of Trade, should have kick-started the country's agriculture and trade authorities into action.

Soybean futures at the bourse jumped 83 percent over the past year on increased demand for cooking oil and alternative fuels, according to Bloomberg.

Although soybean is still considered a "secondary commodity" by local farmers, its role stretches far beyond that.

The commodity is the main ingredient in traditional tofu and tempeh -- a food high in protein which is mostly sold by small businesses and consumed by those who cannot afford to buy meat.

The local market price of soybean has jumped to Rp 7,200 per kilogram from Rp 2,750 (0.28 U.S. cents) in January last year, forcing small business owners to shut down operations as consumers can no longer afford the products.

Indonesia consumes two million tons of soybeans annually. Only 30 percent of the demand is supplied locally, while the bulk is imported primarily from the U.S., where soybeans have been heavy subsidized for decades.

"Our farmers have been discouraged from planting soybean because there are no incentives provided by the administration that will enable them to compete with imported soybeans. It's a policy of 'let it be'," said House of Representatives member Didik J. Rachbini.

Aside from the influx of cheaper imported soybeans, a decline in the country's soybean production has also been driven by the fact that profits from the crop are not as lucrative as that of corn, which yields more per acre.

Indonesia enjoyed a high soybean output prior to the financial crisis of late 1997, when the country managed to at least balance the demand and supply of the commodity.

However, after bowing to pressures from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, who demanded the country open up its trade sector in exchange for a huge financial bailout, local soybean production began to decline.

Following the assistance, cheaper or even underpriced soybeans from the U.S. began flooding the domestic market, trapping the nation from reaching the self-sufficiency long dreamed of by Yudhoyono.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla threw in the towel even before putting up a fight, acknowledging it would be too much of a daunting task to boost local soybean production, as it would require huge incentives.

"Farmers are only able to net a Rp 3.5-million profit per hectare of soybeans, whereas with corn they can net Rp 8 million. So it is difficult to increase the production of soybeans at home," he said Tuesday.

Minister for Agriculture Anton Apriantono seemed to have no initiative at all in taking immediate action to address the problem faced by existing soybean farmers.

The minister turned a blind eye toward the demands of a group of soybean farmers from East Java and the local administration back in June last year, when they complained of limited farmland and a lack of incentives.

One of his staff members even commented that Anton preferred to help a group of farmers linked to his Prosperous Justice Party over others.

In the trade sector, Minister for Trade Mari Elka Pangestu spent most of her days traveling overseas -- for what she claimed was the opening up of new international markets and promotion of Indonesia's products -- rather than taking care of domestic affairs.

It was not until after thousands of tofu and tempeh producers staged a massive rally in front of the Presidential Palace on Monday that she finally came up with a policy to scrap the 10-percent soybean import duty.

"Again, it is a lack of anticipation. Their (government) hearts and minds are just not with the people. The president has a doctorate degree in agriculture and his ministers are also knowledgeable. But they only take action when the house is already burning," Dillon said.

Tofu, tempe producers stage rally outside presidential palace

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Some 3,000 tofu and tempe (fermented soybean cake) producers staged a rally outside the presidential palace here on Monday, urging the government to stabilize the soybean price which jumped almost 100 percent in the past year.

To get their demand fulfilled, the demonstrators agreed to cease production for three days starting on Monday, tofu producer Kliwono Sutoro said.

The soybean price spiral dealt a major blow to tofu and tempe producers as the selling prices of the products remained, he said.

"Consumers do not want the prices of tofu and tempe increased," he said.

He said the skyrocketing soybean price had reduced tofu and tempe producers` profit margins.

The retail soybean price jumped 110 percent to Rp7,250 a kg early in January 2008 from the same period last year.

The demonstrators hailed from Jakarta and environs such as Bogor, Tangerang, Bekasi and Bandung. They arrived in tens of buses and trucks, making traffic in front of the presidential palace congested.

Yogya partnership produces super soybean

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

A partnership of stakeholders comprising farmers, a university and the food-processing industry has led to the discovery of a local variety of black soybean considered superior both in terms of productivity and nutritional content.

Named "Mallika", the newly discovered soybean variety was officially launched in Yogyakarta on Monday during a dialogue entitled "Revitalization of Soybean Seedlings to Support the Self-production of Soybeans by 2015" held at Gadjah Mada University's School of Agriculture.

Mary Astuti from the School of Agriculture said the new superior variety of soybean was named after the Tamil word "Mallika", which literally means kingdom.

"We hope 'Mallika', as the local soybean variety, will become the king of soybeans in the country," said Mary, who is also head of the school's Agro Industry Management and Technology Development Institution.

Research and development of the new soybean variety has been ongoing since 2001, with financial support from consumer goods company PT Unilever Indonesia.

According to Mary the research has proven that "Mallika" has a relatively high productivity level.

"Productivity has reached up to 2.7 tons of soybean per hectare of plantation," said Mary, adding the development of the new variety had covered some 1,600 hectares and involved some 6,000 farmers in 13 regencies across four provinces -- Yogyakarta, Central Java, East Java and West Java.

The figure is considerably higher than that of the national productivity level of other soybean varieties, which is less than a ton per hectare. The government has been struggling to raise productivity to 1.5 tons per hectare in a bid to achieve self-sufficiency in soybean production by 2015.

Mary said the "Mallika" as a plant is more resistant to both flooding and drought. As a seed, similarly, it has a considerably high growth capability.

"Even after 8 months of storage, Mallika seeds still have a growth rate of 80 percent," she said.

In terms of nutritional content, likewise, Mallika is considered superior due to the antioxidant content in its black skin, making it not only beneficial in preventing cancer and high cholesterol but also in preventing degenerative diseases.

"Another positive feature of the 'Mallika' is that it is has not been genetically modified," Mary added.

As an ingredient in the production of soybean ketchup, Mary said "Mallika" is also superior as even without food enhancers the ketchup has a very specific taste.

Director General of Food Crops at the Agriculture Ministry Sutarto Alimoeso said the "Mallika" soybean project was a good example of a successful partnership between the food-processing industry, the university and farmers.

"The Agriculture Ministry is very appreciative for the finding and hopes it will be an entry point for further development, not only for soybean production but also for other commodities and industries," Sutarto said.

He expressed hope the new soybean variety would also speed up the country's independence over imported yellow soybeans, which have flooded the Indonesian market and food-processing industry for years.

Aceh province moves to exploit natural-resource potential

Andi Haswidi, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh

Aceh is a province that is blessed by abundant natural resources and wealth that have long lain undeveloped due to a 32-year insurgency that only recently came to an end.

Now, in a new era of peace and development after the long years of civil unrest and the 2004 tsunami disaster, the opportunities for business appear almost endless in the country's westernmost province.

The region is blessed with bountiful mineral, energy, marine, agricultural and plantation resources that are now open to new investment.

According to a recent report from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, the province holds an estimated 20 million tons of gold, 600 million tons of copper, 32 million tons of platinum, 32 million tons of mercury, 53,000 tons of lead, 350,000 tons of iron ore, 6.4 million tons of iron sand and 600 million tons of molybdenum.

On top of all that, it also boasts some 114 billion tons of coal reserves.

"The mining and energy potentials described by the report illustrate just how big the opportunities are. And almost all of these resources have never been touched before due to the long years of conflict," Aceh Investor Outreach Office director Syafruddin Chan told The Jakarta Post in Banda Aceh on Wednesday.

The mining and energy sectors should serve as the locomotive to get the province's economic growth back on track. Things have already started to move thanks to the Rp 60 trillion (about US$6.6 billion) being invested in rehabilitation projects.

But there is a growing concern that the provincial economy could grind to a virtual halt again after the rehabilitation work by the Aceh and Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) is completed in 2009.

"We are currently focusing on agricultural and marine products as regards developing the province's economy. However, in the future, the most promising sector will be energy and minerals, such as coal," BRR economics and business deputy Said Faisal Baabud told the Post earlier this week.

Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf has acknowledged the importance of mineral resources in the provincial economic plan, despite their adverse consequences for the environment.

In order to minimize destructive environmental impacts, the provincial administration has introduced tight licensing procedures for mining operations.

"We have received a lot of mining exploration proposals, but so far have only licensed three companies," he said as quoted by the local Serambi daily in its Wednesday edition.

In the agricultural sector, key commodities grown in the province include rice, corn, soybeans, nuts, sweet potatoes and other edible tubers.

In 2005 alone, only a year after the tsunami disaster, the rice fields of Aceh produced 1.4 million tons of the national staple. In the same year, Aceh also produced 59,370 tons of Arabica and Robusta coffee, 250,000 tons of crude palm oil (CPO) and 78,031 tons of rubber.

The potential of the marine and fisheries industry in Aceh has yet to be developed. The province has a coastline extending to 1,600 square kilometers, and an exclusive economic zone (ZEE) of 534,520 square kilometers. In all, the province has the potential to produce 173,045 tons of fisheries products per year, excluding the ZEE.

With the help of the World Bank's private sector development firm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the province has begun to promote the farming of what are touted to be the world's best black tiger shrimps. Production currently amounts to about 8,000 tons per year, and the industry has the potential to generate annual foreign exchange earnings of up to $50 million.

Investment procedures in Aceh have also been simplified through the establishment of the Aceh One-Stop Investment Service (KPTSP). Business permits can now be processed in 7 working days under normal circumstances, and in one or two days in special cases if all the requirements have been satisfied.

"Aceh is now in need of foreign investors to bring in the capital and the technological know-how to help increase the value of our products. For those who invest a minimum of Rp 5 billion, we are ready to exempt them from paying local taxes," KPTSP director Said Yulizal promised.

For some early birds, the promise of more relaxed investment procedures has been too good to miss. Since it was set up two months ago, the KPTSP has issued more than 1,000 business permits to local and foreign investors.

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.