JAKARTA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia has begun cultivating around 481,000 hectares of rice fields in the Merauke district of Papua province, aiming to turn the region into a national food granary under a strategic project, Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan said Monday.
The project, located in Wanam, taps into about 1 million hectares of swamp land that can be converted into productive farmland. It is expected not only to produce staple food commodities such as rice, but also to generate ethanol from sugarcane and cassava, as well as biodiesel blends from palm oil, Hasan told a press conference after a coordination meeting in Jakarta.
"This step will strengthen our food sovereignty agenda while supporting emission reduction targets and climate adaptation," the minister said.
According to Hasan, the development would serve as a pillar of Indonesia's efforts to achieve food, energy, and water self-sufficiency.
The government, he added, is prioritizing security, environmental protection, and spatial planning in the implementation, while expediting land use rights and other permits to ensure efficiency and resilience in the long term. ■
