Indonesia, IRRI sign deal to boost rice output

Indonesia has signed a research agreement with the Philippines-based International rice Research Institute (IRRI) to boost the country's rice output, the institute said in a statement.

The agreement between the Indonesian agriculture ministry and the institute would include collaborative research and training agriculture experts.

The government has said it plans to increase rice output by around 2 million tonnes to 36.76 million MT in 2007 from an estimated 34.5 million last years.