SBY calls on women to aid in struggle for food self-reliance

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta,  Fri, 11/14/2008

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on women to contribute to the nation's effort to achieve food self-reliance in Jakarta on Thursday and thanked those involved in a tree planting campaign that has planted 15 million trees.

Yudhoyono thanked the nation's women for their role in helping the country achieve food self-sufficiency amid a period of rising global prices of staple foods, including rice.

"I hope Indonesian women will continue their efforts to strengthen national food resilience as it will be very helpful for us to be self-reliant in the food sector," he told participants of the national conference and expo on the role of women in household food resilience.

The Indonesian government predicts rice production will hit 60 million tons this year, 5.46 percent up from 57 million tons last year.

The government has pledged to increase subsidy for the agriculture sector, including for seeds, fertilizer, food credits and irrigation canals, to Rp 33 trillion (US$1.9billion) next year from Rp 29 trillion this year.

"I also thank women for pioneering the Plant and Cultivate campaign, (which planted) 15 million trees, exceeding the initial target of 10 million," the President said.

Yudhoyono said he expected the effort to plant in particular trees producing edible fruits, such as breadfruit or coconuts.

The three-day national conference and expo is organized by seven major women's groups, including the Solidarity Group of Cabinet Members' Spouses (SIKIB), the Indonesian Women's Congress (Kowani), the Association of Army Soldiers' Wives (Dharma Pertiwi), the Association of Police Officers' Wives (Bhayangkari) and the Women's Alliance for Sustainable Development.

Yudhoyono also spoke of the need for a "back-to-nature" campaign to support food production, and the need to take advantage of the country's natural resources to resist fallout from the U.S.-led global financial crisis.

He called on Indonesians to develop herbal medicines from the country's endemic plant species.

"Indonesia, along with Brazil and Congo, is a country of mega biodiversity. We can develop the herbal medicine sector as a new economic source, as well as to support the self-sufficiency goal. Go local and back to nature," he said.