Jakarta – Indonesia plans to develop two million hectares of new paddy fields outside Java to secure rice supplies for the growing population.

Mr Atos Suprapto, the director-general for facilities and infrastructure at the Agriculture Ministry, said the ambitious project would be completed next year and would focus on the provinces of South Sumatra, Jambi, Riau, Bengkulu and West Kalimantan.

He cited data from the Central Statistics Office which revealed that one million hectares of paddy fields had been converted into non-agricultural areas from 1983 to 1993. Without new paddy fields, rice production would not be able to satisfy demand, he warned.