REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SOKOHARJO, C JAVA -- The Agriculture Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gadjah Mada University (UGM) on Tuesday as part of efforts to achieve self-reliance in food production in Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces.

"Today, we signed an MoU with UGM, particularly with regard to the procurement of high-yielding soybean seeds and the improvement of soybean productivity," Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said during his working visit to Sukoharjo district, Central Java, on Tuesday(27/1).

Sulaiman added that the high-yielding soybean seeds will be able to increase soybean production to 3.5 tons per hectare.

The MoU, which will be valid for three years, will be realized on 110 thousand hectares of soybean plantations across Central Java and Yogyakarta.

Furthermore, UGM Rector Dwikorita Karnawati noted that efforts to improve farm productivity include farm commodity cultivation, research and development, human resources development, commodity processing and marketing, development of facilities and infrastructure, and quarantine.

"UGM is ready to employ its 60 lecturers and 550 students to implement the MoU," she affirmed.

Earlier, the Agriculture Ministry had signed MoUs with the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) to develop high-yielding rice seeds and with the Hasanudding University (Unhas) in Makassar, South Sulawesi, to develop high-yielding corn seeds.

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