Indonesia expands national nursery network to boost seedling supply

3 hours ago

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry is strengthening its national nursery network to increase the production and quality of tree seedlings, following President Prabowo Subianto’s directive to support reforestation and environmental conservation, the ministry said on Friday.

Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni said the ministry will optimize its 59 nurseries to ensure a larger supply of high-quality seedlings for environmental restoration, residential areas, and rural communities across Indonesia.

“President Prabowo Subianto delivered a very specific message to our ministry. He instructed me to produce more seedlings so that our environment becomes greener, our natural ecosystems are better preserved, and our forests remain protected,” Raja said in a statement issued in Jakarta.

He said the ministry will introduce more advanced nursery technologies to improve seedling quality and increase survival rates after planting.

The initiative also aims to improve public access to seedlings and strengthen distribution to regions with greater demand.

“We will remap the locations of these 59 nurseries. If a nursery is too far from a particular district, we may establish a new one there while maximizing seedling production in line with President Prabowo Subianto’s directive,” he said.

In addition to optimizing existing facilities, the ministry is preparing to establish new nurseries, including one that will soon be inaugurated in South Sumatra Province.

The Ministry of Forestry currently operates 59 nurseries, comprising nine central nurseries and 50 permanent nurseries.

Each central nursery is capable of producing more than five million seedlings annually, while each permanent nursery produces approximately 500,000 to one million seedlings per year.

Earlier, President Prabowo emphasized the importance of expanding tree-planting efforts to preserve the environment and instructed the Ministry of Forestry to strengthen nursery capacity to ensure the availability of high-quality seedlings nationwide.