THE farmer from Madiun complained of the difficulty he faced in harvesting Super Toy HL-2 rice. Last April he asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, then attending the first harvesting of the rice variety at Desa, Purworejo, in Central Java, to help find a reaping tool that would make his job easier.

The farmer also asked Tauyung Supriadi, discoverer of Super Toy, to improve the variety. “Please produce a leafless variety from which grows o