Forest destruction project for rice paddies to be halted

Crop security: Having achieved rice self-sufficiency, Indonesia has halted plans to clear millions of hectares of forest. — Reuters

The country said it will halt a project to raze several million hectares of forest to clear land for rice production, saying it had reached self-sufficiency levels of the staple grain.

The government launched a programme in 2024 to stop relying on rice imports within five years by clearing three million hectares of land for paddies.