REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PADANG -- About 70 percent of the whole land in Indonesia consist of infertile soil, an expert on soil Prof Nurhajati Hakim has said.
"The whole islands in Indonesia are dominated by ultisol or reddish-yellow soil and peat land with relatively a high level of acidity so that they are not good for plantations," Nurhajati Hakim said here on Sunday.
She said that even though there were volcanoes in Sumatra with fertile soil, yet the overall land was dominated by ultisol soil and peat land.
The ultisol soil is found along the range of Bukit Barisan volcanoes while peat land is located in the western and eastern coastal areas of Sumatra, she said.
Peat land also dominates Kalaimantan and Papua with a small part of ultisol soil.
The same thing is also found in Sulawesi whose areas are dominated by peat land with the remaining parts consisting ultisol. Java, Bali and Nusa Tanggara are dominated by active volcanoes with majority Andosol type of soil.
"Infertile land does not mean however that it could not be planted. If technology is applied, the soil can provide abundant agricultural production," Nurhajati Hakim said.
Therefore, she said, Indonesia could enjoy a high production of various commodities, even if its land is mostly infertile.
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