Indonesia's rice production in 2009 was predicted to rise by 1.1 percent from that of 60.2 million tonnes in 2008 due to rising productivity and the extension of harvest area, Agriculture Minister Anton Apriantono said.
“Rice production this year is predicted to rise by 1.1 percent from that of last year," he was cited by Xinhua news agency on Mar. 12 at the Vice Presidential Office.
Minister Anton said that Indonesia had earlier planned to reduce its rice export target in 2009 to one million tonnes from that of the previous target of two million tonnes to add the stockpile to three million tonnes.
Previously an official of the Agriculture Ministry Ali Musro said that currently the country’s harvest-area has already been widened to 12.5 million hectares from 11.8 million hectares three years ago.
The farmers in Indonesia now plant their ricefield twice a year, compared to that of once a year several years ago, he added.
The productivity of land had also risen to 4.8 million tonnes per hectare in 2008, compared to that of 4.6 million tonnes in 2007, the minister said, adding that the country had targeted at 5 million tons in 2009./.