MALAYSIA TO STUDY INDONESIA'S INCENTIVE TO FARMERS BY MOHD NASIR YUSOFF

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Jan 24 (Bernama) -- Malaysia are keen to study the incentive scheme offered by the Indonesian government to its farmers and breeders to ensure sufficient production of rice and maize for livestock breeding.

Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed said
incentives like low interest on loans (4 to 5 percent) for cattle breeders and a
grace period of two years to start repayment can positively contribute to
productivity.

"The interest rate is just one third of the commercial rates charged in
Indonesia and that is an interesting aspect for us to study so as to improve our
productivity in agriculture," he told reporters after visiting a cattle breeding
farm here Friday.

The Santori farm is among the biggest in Indonesia with a capacity of
churning out 20,000 cattle at any one time and can produce 80,000 cattle a year.

In line with the growth in production of livestock, feed and food
production, especially maize, has also been expanded to cater for 200,000
farmers, he said.

Mustapa added that with the incentives provided the country would be able to
produce enough rice, maize and beef for its own consumption by 2013.

"It will be possible as Lampung alone can produce 700,000 cattle a year and
able to cultivate 400,000 hectares of maize with an average income of RM1,000 a
month for farmers," he said.

Mustapa is on a seven-day visit to Indonesia to look at various agricultural
projects that had been highly successful in Lampung in Sumatera, as well as
Central and East Java.

-- BERNAMA