Jakarta, Sept. 22 -- Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture is preparing up to 2 million hectares of land for bioethanol development as part of efforts to strengthen the country's energy independence.

Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman made the statement after a coordination meeting on accelerating bioethanol development with 44 regents from production centers across Indonesia.

"The government is preparing to develop up to 2 million hectares of land as a foundation for building the national bioethanol industry and as a step toward strengthening energy independence," Amran said here on Monday (Sept 21).

He explained that establishing a bioethanol industry requires an integrated supply chain, with large-scale agricultural productio...