Ministry of Agriculture records indicate that Indonesia has around 100 species of carbohydrate-rich plants, more than 100 species of leguminous plants, 450 species of fruits, 250 species of vegetables and 70 species of herbs and spices.

Darda Efendi, head of the Center for Tropical Horticulture Studies at Bogor Agricultural University, warned that as many as half of them were endangered. In fact, several of them were already thought to be extinct.