"Nichts mehr davon, ich bitt euch. Zu essen gebt ihm, zu wohnen. Habt ihr die Blöße bedeckt, gibt sich die Würde von selbst." Friedrich Schiller
July 2008	FOOD for PEACE

Indonesia To Develop 1.6 Million Hectares in Papua for Rice Culitivation Indonesia has announced plans to develop 1.6 million hectares of undeveloped land in the far southern tip of Papua for rice cultivation, aimed at making Indonesia self-sufficient and a net exporter of rice. The program includes building roads and irrigation systems, and three ports in the area of the city of Merauke. Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono said that Indonesia is "set to place itself in the ranks of major rice suppliers of the world." As reported last week, the Philippines has just announced the development of 1 million hectares of government land for rice and corn, to be developed by San Miguel of the Philippines and the Kuok Group of Malaysia. A consortium of Saudi investors is going to invest about $65 million in the Papua project. Each investor will open about 5-10,000 hectares. The plan was worked out on the sidelines of the Rome FAO conference in June.