GOVERNMENT TO TURN SWAMPS INTO PRODUCTIVE LANDS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, April 7 (Antara) - Indonesia has an extensive area of 33.39 million hectares of swamplands, with potential for cultivation to ensure the country's food security and sovereignty.          Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said that based on a pilot project in Ogan Ilir of South Sumatra Province, the productivity of swamplands could reach 6 to 7 tons per hectare. The pilot project could yield 2 to 3 tons per hectare at the beginning, but after three planting seasons, it could produce 6 to 7 tons per hectare.          Hence, the government is optimistic that one million hectares of swamplands could yield a commercial benefit of about Rp60 trillion, on the basis of the three-time cropping index a year.          According to Lowland Data Center, http://www.pusdatarawa.or.id, the swamp areas in Indonesia are spread over several islands, namely Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua. Indonesia's swampland areas comprise 20.09 million hectares (60.2 percent of tidal land and 13.3 million hectares or 39.8 percent of non-tidal swamp land (lebak).