Ministry Preparing 13,400 tons of Paddy Seeds

Jakarta (Antara) - The Ministry of Agriculture is preparing 13,400 tons of paddy seeds in anticipation of the damage caused to the rice plantations as a result of natural disasters, stated a cabinet minister. On Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Suswono remarked that the floods, which hit a number of provinces in the country, had caused considerable damage to the rice plantations. "The newly planted paddy saplings have been worst affected. Thus, replanting must be conducted," the minister claimed after attending a coordination meeting at the state logistics board Bulog office. The coordination meeting was led by Chief Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa and was also attended by State Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Marine Affairs and Fisheries Sharif Cicip Sutardjo, President Director of Bulog Sutarto Alimoeso, Head of the Central Bureau of Statistics Suryamin, and Trade Deputy Minister Bayu Krisnamurti. Suswono added that his ministry was still taking stock of the situation in order to find the acreage of damaged rice fields and identify those which required replantation. The minister pointed out that his ministry was also ready to offer assistance to the farmers whose rice plantations failed to give harvestable yields as a result of the natural disasters. "An assistance of Rp3.7 million will be offered for each affected hectare of paddy field, which failed to give a harvestable yield," the minister noted. (*)