REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MANADO -- Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that his ministry anticipates El Nino to affect parts of Indonesia.

"To prevent the impacts of El Nino, I have set up a special team as a weak El Nino is forecast to hit Indonesia, a moderate El Nino in Australia, while a strong one in the United States," the minister noted while accompanying President Joko Widodo here on Thursday.

The minister claimed that his ministry has anticipated a possible drought that will affect over 200 thousand hectares of land, saying that the ministry has studied the matter for five to 10 years and is now ready to implement some measures.

"I have gathered all agricultural experts and those competent of tackling the impacts of El Nino," he added.

With those anticipations, the national paddy production is expected to not be affected by El Nino this year.

During 1997-1998, Indonesia had experienced a prolonged drought induced by the strongest ever recorded El Nino, which triggered widespread fires.

The greatest loss caused by forest and land fires in Indonesia occurred in 1997, when fires wiped out millions of hectares of forest and plantation areas and caused losses worth US$2.45 billion.

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