Yuli Tri Suwarni – The conversion of rice fields and farming areas for residential and industrial land use is threatening the resilience of Indonesian food supplies, Agriculture Minister Anton Apriantono says.

Anton was speaking on the sidelines of an event held in recognition of World Food Day, at Tegalega Square, Bandung, on Wednesday.

In attendance were West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's country representative in Indonesia, Man Ho So.

Each year in Indonesia some 40,000 hectares of rice paddy is converted for other uses, Anton said, urging President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to sign a draft land management bill which could later be used to limit such conversions.

"We can prevent conversions by making more farms and by introducing restrictions on land use," he said. "Agricultural land being converted must be replaced."

The government was in the process of expanding agricultural zones, which currently cover a total 7.4 million hectares in Indonesia. This figure is only half the optimal area of 15 million hectares, Anton said.

Indonesia has managed to increase its food production over the past two years, producing 60.28 million tons of rice in 2007, which was 5.14 percent more than in the previous year. Similar increases were enjoyed in other crops such as corn and soybean.

A big problem in the provision of good quality and reasonably priced foods is climate change, Anton added.

"Climate change has shifted rain patterns causing extreme weather conditions, leading to changes in seasons and planting times as well as food quality and production," he said.

"We have to adopt preventative measures immediately, otherwise the resilience of our food supply will be impacted."

The use of food for stock feed and biofuels has put additional pressure on the world's food stocks, Anton said.

Some 800 million people were starving every day worldwide, with 15 children and 15 adults dying of starvation every minute, he said.

Commenting on the current fertilizer shortage, Anton said the government had increased its fertilizer stocks from 4.5 million to 4.8 million tons.

"An increase of farming activities has caused the fertilizer shortage, but there is also a huge price discrepancy which is causing a moral hazard."