The Future of Indonesia’s Industries Could Include a 500-Acre Herbal Plantation

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s industries may potentially expand and include the production of herbal medicine, based on a plan by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan.

He plans to manufacture herbal medicine and reduce the nation’s reliance on imported raw materials for medicinal products.

Should the plan be realized, the Coordinating Minister intends to establish a 500-acre herbal plantation in Toba Lake, North Sumatera.

Read also: China Market Offers Huge Potential for Indonesia’s Traditional Herbal Products, Medicinal Plants

Septian Hario Seto, the Deputy of the Coordinating Department of Investment and Mining at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment, said that Luhut’s plan is to provide the land which also encompasses his hometown.

“Luhut’s personal initiative is to have 500 acres of land in Lake Toba designated as an herbal plantation.”

Luhut Pandjaitan has taken the extra step to invite herbal medicinal product manufacturers such as Dexamedika to forge a partnership for the research of raw materials that will be grown.

Read also: Erick Thohir: Indonesia Must Achieve Food Security and Reduce Import Reliance

In a sign to get moving on diversifying Indonesia’s industries, two Chinese universities, Zhejiang University and Yunnan University, have been tapped for the research initiative.

"We tapped Zhejiang because they developed an artificial intelligence system that can detect the substance level of herbal medicinal products.”