KEYNOTE SPEECH MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

Transcription

1 KEYNOTE SPEECH MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA At FAO IAEA s Second Research Coordination Meeting (RCM) on Integrated Utilization of Cereal Mutant Varieties in Crop/Livestock Systems for Climate Smart Agriculture Indonesia s Food Safety and Security Policy SEAMEO BIOTROP, Bogor, August 2014 Prof. Dr. Bambang Purwantara, Director of SEAMEO BIOTROP Mr. Ljupcho Jankuloski, Joint FAO/IAEA Division 1

2 It is a great pleasure - to be here - and warmly welcome you all to this important gathering at the Research Coordination Meeting (RCM) on Integrated Utilization of Cereal Mutant Varieties in Crop/Livestock Systems for Climate Smart Agriculture. In this occasion, I would like to raise a theme on Indonesia s Food Safety and Security Policy with specific topic about the current contribution by the available science and technology in supporting national food program. By 2050 when it s predicted that the world s population will total ten billion people. At present, almost one billion people to bed hungry. Yet 1.3 billion tons of food, almost a third of what s produced, is lost or wasted each year. Urbanization will continue at an accelerated pace, and about 70 percent of the world s population will be urban. Income levels will be many multiples of what they are now. In order to feed this larger, more urban and richer population, food production must increase by 70 percent. 2

3 In each country where the population is escalating, the pressure on land increases. At the same time, however, land conversion from agricultural to urban, settlement and industrial uses has been increasing. These has put pressures on existing agricultural lands which is demonstrated by very intensive land management and expansion of agricultural lands to less suitable areas such as steep slope and less fertile lands. Moreover, the global warming and climate change threatens the production of crops, especially vulnerable food crops. The world, in part, responded to the global warming by increasing the use of biofuel. On the other hand, however, the expansion of biofuel-producing crops also increases competition of land use that further limit the land for food crops. The problems of population increase, food and biofuel demands, climate change and limited resources are interlinked in a vicious cycle that require joint and integrated global efforts. Agriculture plays as important and strategic role for Indonesia s economics, social and politics. Attaining selfsufficiency on food crops production will strengthen food 3

4 security domestically and therefore can increase probability to feed the world. Indonesia s agricultural development program in the period has 4 (four) main goals: first, increased national food security through higher production and lower food imports; second, food diversification; third, increased value added and competitiveness of agricultural products; and four, improved the quality of life of farming households. The current Agricultural Development Plan identifies a series of key challenges: First for nearterm agricultural development, namely ways to increase the productivity and added value of products through an environmentally friendly agricultural system, Second restore and develop land and water infrastructures as well as seeding and breeding systems; Third provide disadvantaged farmers and livestock breeders with access to low-interest financing; Fourth strengthen competitiveness in the global market and improve the weak economic growth resulting from the global crisis; Fifth strengthen the institutions for productive economic activities in rural areas and respond to the demand for food supply. 4

5 Allow me to share with you our efforts in addressing the above challenges. This year, as a response to FAO warning of possible global food insecurity, Indonesia doubled its effort to increase staple food production in order to have significant surplus of staple food as the national food reserve. Our concern is how to increase our productivity level, especially in five commodities such as, rice, soy bean, corn, sugar cane and beef. In line with the above effort, our government formulate some program through improving irrigation system, creating new agricultural land especially sub-optimal land, utilization of high yielding new plant variety, and implementation technology for plant cultivation include of nuclear technology. Nuclear technology plays an important roles in plant breeding through the use of gamma irradiation. This nuclear technique has significant advantages, particularly for breeding crops that have difficulties in hybridization. Meanwhile, isotopic tracer techniques are very helpful for the study of land productivity related to 5

6 water and nutrient use efficiency for a specific food crop. Indonesia has good facilities for doing research on the application of nuclear technology for agriculture. With mutation techniques, Indonesia has successfully improved rice varieties toward positive attributes such as high yield, early maturity, insect and disease resistance, and with better quality and yield than the original parents. Up till now, Indonesia has released 20 rice mutant varieties which are 10 % of the national total rice varieties. Base on the average of national rice production, rice mutant variety yielded as much as 7.0 tones per hectare. Not only rice, Indonesia has also released some mutant varieties of important crops such as soybean (6 varieties), mungbean (1 variety), cotton (1 variety) and sorghum (3 varieties). These research activities, mostly related to the Technical Cooperation of the IAEA program. it is, therefore, my highest appreciation to the IAEA for its contribution to Indonesia in collaborating this Technical Cooperation. Food security is not simply determined by food crop production but also by the availability of post- 6

7 harvest technology to preserve the products. Food preservation with irradiation, for example, is very important technology that can ensure food reservation. As we have reached the application of nuclear science to support national food security program, application of nuclear technology has proven record in increasing the safety and quality of food commodities for consumers. Another nuclear technique, the irradiation, provides a safe and environmental-friendly way of controlling food-borne disease and stored product insect pests. In each case, cutting edge nuclear technologies either alone or in combination with other treatments have added value to traditional food systems by making it possible to control pathogen growth in grains and cereals, spices, and processed or ready to eat foods as sanitary measure without impairing the overall quality during storage. The continued dependence on the use of chemicals in the post-harvest food loss prevention is increasingly coming under scrutiny in view of the harmful effects on human health and environment. Satisfactory long-term storage of staple crops may be at risk as traditional fumigants are phased out. If food production 7

8 has to increase by 50%, this will require a huge capital investment. As the regional agriculture responds to challenges in securing sufficient food for expanding human population under changing climate, no doubt the search for an improved and emerging technology to preserve will increase in the coming years. Radiation processing can thus provide an effective and safe alternative treatment for both improving food security and safety in many of the developing and less developed countries by reducing post-harvest storage losses of staple and non-staple foods. In conjunction to sustainability for the application of nuclear science technology towards food security and safety, collaboration with private sector had been established, with initial dissemination and socialization program activities. Currently, there are at least 9 private sectors, wide spread in Indonesia agriculture area, including the state-owned enterprises for agriculture, agriculture farmers cooperatives, and seed breeders companies, have agreed in a mutual partnerships with us, for the augmentation of staple food seed to fulfill the national need. 8

9 Pure investment by the private in providing irradiation facilities have encourage food safety industries and the key element to overcome the problems is the collaboration among national institutions as well as stake holders in the region to develop capabilities of scientists, regulators and policy makers for anticipating and analyzing solution and thereby develop policy alternative for the use of irradiation to improve food safety issues. Finally I propose that this meeting could discuss our effort to strengthen our initiatives and cooperation to achieve our common goals. Our people are waiting for our commitment and our action to achieve food security and livelihood security in a sustainable way. Thank you all for your attention Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Minister of Agriculture, SUSWONO 9