Indonesia will increase the area of agricultural land by 3 million hectares, but will not cut down trees

Indonesia's incoming president, Prabowo Subianto, who will take office on October 20, plans to increase the area under food crops by 3 million hectares (7.4 million acres) over five years as part of the country's self-sufficiency program.

Currently, agricultural land in Indonesia occupies 7.4 million hectares, which is 8.5% less than in 2015 (8.08 million hectares), as part of the land was transferred to housing and industrial zones.

An increase in cultivated areas by 3 million hectares will allow them to be sown with rice, corn and soybeans and ensure the country's food supply for the coming decades.

Environmentalists fear that the expansion of cultivated areas may lead to the cutting down of trees in Indonesia's last untamed forests, in particular in the eastern region of Papua. However, the country's authorities say that they will not cut down the trees, but will try to drain the marshy lands in order to plant them with rice.

At the beginning of this year, Indonesia turned about 100,000 hectares of swamps in the province of South Sumatra into rice fields, which will increase rice production.

According to forecasts, in 2024, the production of rice in the country will reach 30.86 million tons, while the demand for it is at least 31.21 million tons. Therefore, the authorities approved a quota for the import of 3.6 million tons of rice for 2024.