REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MAMUJU -- Cacao clone from West Sulawesi has attracted a Swiss investor into planning to process cacao beans from that province.
"Cacao clone from West Sulawesi is the best in quality in Indonesia," West Sulawesi Governor Anwar Adnan Saleh said here on Saturday.
The Swiss investors is seeking a local investor to be partner in the venture, the governor said giving no name, beyond saying that the investor has the largest cacao processing factory in Switzerland.
He said the Swiss investor chose to invest in West Sulawesi also because the province is the largest producer of cacao beans in the country.
West Sulawesi contributes more than 50 percent to Sulawesi's total production of cacao beans and Sulawesi accounts for around 72 percent of the country's total production of the food commodity.
Indonesia is the world's third largest producer of cacao beans after the Ivory Coast and Ghana.
The governor said he invited more investment in cacao plantation and processing industry in West Sulawesi.
Cacao clone from West Sulawesi is named Sulawesi I and Sulawesi II to become commodity icon of the province.
The clones have been produced under the program of National Movement to Increase Cacao Production and Improve Cacao Quality (Gernas Pro Kakao).
Sulawesi I and II clones have been grown not only in Sulawesi but also in other parts of the country, and they have been recognized with certificate by the government, the governor said.
The governor even said the clones have been known internationally for their high productivity , turning out 300 fruits per tree a year.
In addition they yield fruits faster and more resistant to plant diseases, he said.
Head of the West Sulawesi Plantation Office Supriyatno said this year the central government has set aside Rp220 billion in assistance to finance the program of cacao national movement.
Altogether the budget for the program in West Sulawesi will reach Rp1 trillion to be used in the next three years to improve the quality and increase the productivity of cacao in the province.
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