Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Indonesian government is preparing to distribute roughly 280 million high-yielding cocoa and coconut seedlings, in a massive push to revitalize the national plantation sector and boost rural economy.The initiative follows directives from President Prabowo Subianto to position the agricultural and plantation sectors as central pillars of Indonesia's future economic development, according to Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman.The seedling rollout is tied to an ambitious, medium-term development program spanning 2025 to 2027, he said in his statement, Monday (June 8).Backed by a Rp9.5 trillion (US$522.8 million) State Budget allocation, the Agriculture Ministry aims to develop 870,000 hectares of community plantation land across the archipelago.In addition to current focus on cocoa and coconut, the overarching initiative targets other strategic commodities including sugar cane, coffee, nutmeg, cashew nuts and candlenut.Minister Amran announced the figures following a weekend surprise inspection of a local nursery in Lamomea Village, South Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi.Impressed by the quality of the local crop during his visit, Amran urged other regions to take notes.”This is an example of good coconut seedlings. This should be emulated throughout Indonesia,” he stated.For the Southeast Sulawesi region, the government has prepared approximately 38 million seeds as part of a national plantation development program, that is expected to increase the productivity and income of local farmers.Amran emphasized that all assistance is provided free of charge to farmers, from the provision of superior seeds, land preparation, to the planting process.He stated that this policy demonstrates the government's support for farmers, enabling them to increase production without the constraints of initial costs, which have often been a barrier to business development.The push in plantation sector and downstreaming program is expected to create at least three million permanent jobs over the next three years, he added.”What does this mean? We open land, and the workforce will continue to work there for up to 30 years because these crops, God willing, are highly productive,” Amran concluded.