Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo has urged the West Sulawesi provincial government to prepare 10 thousand hectares of land for corn and soybean plantation.
“Prepare the land and grow (corn and soybean on it). We will assist,” Limpo affirmed, according to a press statement released on Friday.
The minister made the remarks while receiving a visit from acting West Sulawesi Governor Akmal Malik in Jakarta.
During their meeting, Limpo and Malik discussed technical issues regarding the development of food crops and the horticulture sector in West Sulawesi.
Limpo asked the West Sulawesi provincial government to prepare 10 thousand hectares of land for corn and soybean plantation.
He said the Agriculture Ministry will not only prepare seeds but also connect farmers to banks so that they can obtain smallholder business credit (KUR) for the agricultural sector.
Meanwhile, Malik conveyed West Sulawesi province’s preparedness to contribute to efforts to build self-reliance in food production on a national scale.
He also expressed gratitude to the minister for his positive response to the province’s efforts to develop its agricultural sector.
“We will ready the land soon for the development of corn and soybean plantation. Our discussion with the Agriculture Minister was related to technical matters and we are ready to follow up on them,” Malik said.
Local farmers’ poor access to financial institutions has so far posed a challenge to their benefiting from the huge potential in the province’s agricultural sector, he added.
With the Agriculture Ministry’s intervention, he said he is optimistic that local farmers will enjoy wide access to smallholder business credit (KUR).
Source: Antara News