RFarmers in four districts in the Indonesian province of West-Java will begin growing cassava for a first bioethanol project in the region, a local official told state news agency Antara.
According to Nu'man Abdul Hakim, the province's vice-governor, the farmers from districts will cooperate with South Korean firm LBL Network Co Ltd and be assisted by the West-Java provincial authorities. Representatives of Subang, Indramayu, Sumedang and Kuningan district signed a memorandum of understanding with Kang Yong Soo, president of LBL to make 50,000 hectares of land available to grow cassava, in exchange for a beneficial supply contract.
The investor needs 200,000 hectares of land to take scale-advantages, Hakim said, after which LBL has committed to invest 900 billion rupiah (€750,000/US1 million) to build a first ethanol plant.
Cassava, also known as manioc, is a starch-rich tuber that grows well on degraded land and requires relatively little fertiliser and water inputs. Its starch is already being used to produce ethanol on a large scale in China , Nigeria and Thailand
Tanggal Tayang : 4-12-2006
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