SIMALUNGUN Regency is the second largest (after Deli Serdang) rice bowl in North Sumatra province. Aside from rice, the region is also the largest producer of secondary crops, such as corn, cassava and peanuts. Understandably, agriculture is the main economic activity in this area populated by 830,000 people.

Of the regions Rp4.2 trillion in 2001, 62 percent came from agriculture, followed by plantation products. The main plantation commodity of p