Minister Optimistic of Achieving Self - sufficiency in Garlic

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Agriculture Minister Andi Arman Sulaiman is optimistic that Indonesia can achieve self-sufficiency in garlic by providing 60,000 hectares of land, including in Temanggung, Magelang and East Lombok.

“Self-sufficiency in garlic can be achieved, insha Allah. Paddy and corn are the commodities [cultivated] in 21 hectares of land, whereas garlic only needs 60,000 hectares of land to achieve self-sufficiency. It’s very minimal. We can do it in a short period,” Amran said yesterday in Jakarta.

He said that land will mainly be provided in several districts, namely Temanggung (Central Java), Magelang (Central Java), Sembalun (East Lombok), Solok (West Sumatra) and South Sulawesi.

Meanwhile, Director of Vegetable and Medicinal Plants, the Directorate General of Horticulture, Prihasto Setyanto said that garlic planting will be done primarily in two regions: Central Java and West Nusa Tenggara.

The provision of land for garlic in Central Java include 1,000 hectares in Temanggung, 70 hectares in Magelang, 30 hectares in Tegal and 1,500 hectares in East Lombok’s West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

Prihasto explained that the regions are qualified for garlic planting, namely situated at an altitude of 800 m above sea level, having a sandy terrain and abundant water.

“In addition, there are farmers having experience in planting garlic in East Lombok and Temanggung,” he said.

This year, planting of garlic in 2,600 hectares of land this year will be carried out to produce seeds, instead of meeting food needs.

“The target for 2017 is seed [production]. For 2018, the targets are seeds and some for consumption around 17 percent,” he added.

He expects that one hectare of land can produce five tons of garlic seeds or 13,000 tons of seeds to allow planting in 2,600 hectares of land this year.

ANTARA