REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - The Agriculture Ministry is expected to receive budget allocations of 19.3 trillion IDR next year according to the draft 2013 state budget. The budget allocations would be used to carry out 12 agricultural programs to achieve the production targets of main farm commodities in 2013, Agriculture Minister Suswono said on Thursday.

The government has set next year`s targets of rice production at 72.06 million tonnes, corn 26 million tonnes, soybean 2.25 million tonnes, sugar 2.81 million tonnes and cattle meat 0.52 million tonnes.

"In 2013, we will still be encountered with the problem of how to achieve the national target of strategic food production, including how to raise rice production to achieve a surplus of 10 million tons by 2014," he said.

The other problems dealt with how to achieve self reliance in corn, soybean, sugar, and cattle meat production by 2014, speed up the diversification of food consumption, stabilize domestic food prices and promote farmers` living standard, he said. Earlier, at a dialog with heads of provincial agriculture offices on food self sufficiency, the minister said 2012 and 2013 were important and decisive years to achieve the targets.

He said development challenges in the future would become increasingly formidable. Various problems would arise as a result of climate change and global economic pressure which would directly or indirectly have an impact on the country`s agricultural sector.

"That`s why programs and activities in 2013 must be designed in such way that they will ensure the attainment of the targets by taking into account all possible challenges," he said. 

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