The government has increased subsidised fertilisers from 4.7 million tonnes to 9.5 million tonnes to help achieve food self-sufficiency, said an official.
Yadi Sofyan Noor, chairman of the Indonesian Association of Farmers and Fishermen, said the subsidised fertilisers prepared by the government for farmers throughout the country must be a trigger for realising food self-sufficiency.
According to him, the total value of 9.5 million tonnes of fertilisers is 54 trillion rupiah (RM16.1bil).
Yadi added that the subsidised fertilisers included chemical and organic fertilisers for nine types of commodities, namely rice, corn, soybeans, chilies, shallots, garlic, sugar cane, coffee and cocoa.
In January, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said this year, Indonesia would import three million tonnes of rice to fulfill its rice deficit caused by the El Nino pattern. — Xinhua
