Jokowi Instructs PTPN to Develop Local Fruit Plantations
28 November 2015 19:40 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo instructed state plantation firm PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) to prepare at least 10,000 hectares of land to develop domestic fruit commodities. According to Jokowi, 10,000 hectares of land is just a fraction of the total land owned by PTPN.
“PTPN has planted rubber, coffee, oil palm, and tea, but not fruits,” Jokowi said when opening a fruit and flower festival at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture on Saturday, November 28, 2015.
Jokowi added that Indonesia must initiate a revolutionary movement related to fruit commodity development in a bid to compete with imported fruits in the domestic market.
Jokowi also asked PTPN to develop industries related to fruit, such as orange juice. Jokowi suggested that PTPN should manage post-harvest crop-handling to maintain its sustainability.
Jokowi welcomed the idea of Orange Revolution initiated by the Bogor Institute of Agriculture. Jokowi then instructed the IPB to hold a large-scale fruit and flower festival next year.
Data from the Central Statistics Agency shows that Indonesia imported 502.3 tons of fresh fruits worth US$647.3 million and 27.7 tons of dried fruits worth US$46.9 million in 2013.
TIKA PRIMANDARI | ANTARA