<p>Java could lose up to six million tons of rice in 2014, unless something is done immediately to regulate and reduce pesticide use.</p><p>Brown planthopper populations have exploded due to the overuse of insecticides that destroy the planthopper's natural enemies. This is a serious threat to Java's rice production for 2014.</p><p>On Jan. 13, the Department of Plant Protection at the prestigious Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) issued a press release to call attention to this threat, which was identified by intensive field research in Java's 2013 cropping season a litany of Java's main rice-</p><p>producing areas particularly in East and Central Java were affected.</p><p><a href="http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/fast-breeding-insect-is-devastating-javas-rice-thanks-to-pesticides/">Keep reading...</a></p>