The GOVERNMENT has identified 20 million hectares of reserve forest land to be utilized as reserves for food, energy, and water.The Minister of Forestry (Menhut), Raja Juli Antoni, revealed that this new concept will directly support the programs of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM).
“We have identified 20 million hectares of forest that can be utilized for food, energy, and water reserves,” he said after a limited meeting at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Monday (30/12).
In an informal conversation with President Prabowo Subianto and Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, he mentioned that one of the main focuses is the cultivation of gogo rice, which is rice that can grow in dry land.
The Minister of Forestry estimates that there is potential for around 1.1 million hectares of land that could produce up to 3.5 million tons of rice per year. This amount is equivalent to Indonesia’s total rice imports in 2023.
In addition, the government also plans to plant aren trees as a source of bioethanol.
“One hectare of sugar palm can produce 24 thousand kiloliters of bioethanol.” “If we plant 1.5 million hectares of sugar palm, we can produce 24 million kiloliters of bioethanol, which can replace 26 million kiloliters of fuel imports,” he said.
He said that this concept will support national food security by expanding food estates down to the village level.
“This is not just a large food estate, but also small food barns in districts, sub-districts, and even villages,” he said.
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