REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NGAWI - Presidential candidate of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), Joko Widodo (popularly known as Jokowi), said that more research needed to boost farmers' welfare.
Jokowi said that during his visit to Kauman, a village in Ngawi, East Java, for electoral campaign on Monday. Farmers in Kauman plant rice of IR64 type, harvested twice every year and producing five tonnes of rice per hectare (ha).
"If we strengthen our research and technological development, the farmers are no longer using IR64 but new superior variety, with three times harvesting per year and producing 10 tonnes of rice per ha," Jokowi said recently.
In the afternoon, Jokowi explored Kauman rice field in the village and talked to residents.
"I like visiting rice field in Solo when I was 16 years," Jokowi said.