REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration plans to open one million hectares of land in transmigration areas for soybean. Planting will take time over three years in 26 provinces in Indonesia.
Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, Muhaimin Iskandar explained that government targetted soybean production about 1.5 million tonnes. It can reduce the dependence on imported soybean in Indonesia.
"The potential of areas and labor availability in transmigration areas must support production of national soybean," Muhaimin said recently.
Development of transmigration is designed for agriculture expansion outside Java towards food security. Iskandar said that transmigration areas were selected as availibility of land and human resources with huge potential for development of soybean production. With Ministry of Agriculture, government will launch a joint planting movement for 2013-2014 on 155 thousand hectares of land with target production by 225 thousand tonnes.
In 2014 and 2015, it will be opened 400 thousand hectares of land for soybean with target production of 600 thousand tonnes and 450 hectares with target production of 675 thousand tonnes. A trial planting has been implemented on area of 10 thousand hectares. About one thousand hectares are ready to produce superior soybean.
"We are optimistic that this program will be successful in increasing national soybean production," Iskandar said.