Sidoarjo, Jawa Timur, July 22 -- Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has called for increased Indonesian corn production by using high-yield seed varieties, including the MTE-09 hybrid corn seed developed by the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS).

Speaking at the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture and ITS at the university's Buncitan Campus in Sidoarjo, East Java, on Wednesday, Amran said the ministry had purchased MTE-09 corn seeds, which will be distributed free of charge to farmers in the Surabaya area.

"We have purchased MTE-09 corn seeds developed by ITS for cultivation across 13,000 hectares of land, with a total value of Rp10 billion. We selected this variety because its productivit...