REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Government is optimistic that the rice production in July, at least in numerical prediction, will reach four percent or surpass the target of 3.6 percent. The optimism was due good season and normal weather which was good for growing the plant, the Minister of Agriculture, Suswono, said.
"If we reach four percent, we may lower the next year target of 6.25 percent," he said.
He expects the rice production will be surplus in around 10 million tonnes if the production can be maintained. However, he also emphasized the importance of food diversification to lower rice consumption in a country with population which is increasing in about three to four million people per year. "We should decrease the consumption pattern along with the increasing population," he said.
