Jakarta – Commander of the National Campaign Team’s Bravo Communication Team (TKN) Prabowo Gibran, Budisatrio Djiwandono explained that the nation’s self-sufficiency in food will be the top priority if the number 2 pair is elected to lead Indonesia. This must be done, because the food crisis is imminent.
“The main sectors targeted for self-sufficiency by Prabowo Gibran are food, water, and energy. In these sectors, we should no longer depend on imports. Especially regarding food, Mr. Prabowo has stated that food is a matter of life and death for a nation,” said Budisatrio to reporters in Jakarta (Sunday, 13/1).
The head of the Indonesian Parliament’s Commission IV, which oversees agriculture, food, and maritime affairs, explained that Indonesia is currently experiencing a food deficit due to population growth accompanied by a decrease in land productivity. He cited the crisis that occurred with rice.
“BPS data shows that our population increases by around 3 million people every year. And this population growth is not accompanied by an increase in arable land. Yet rice is consumed by almost all citizens,” he said.
Budisatrio continued that this deficit cannot be covered by relying on imports from abroad.
“Learning from the incident of wheat during the Ukraine-Russia war, the supply chain was disrupted so the price of our wheat, which is highly dependent on imports, increased sharply. We must not let this happen to rice, which is our main food,” he said.
To address this issue, Prabowo Gibran targets a minimum increase of four million hectares of arable land in a program called the Food Barn.
“This food barn will start from the smallest level in the villages by the farmers, up to the national level by continuing the food estate. The way to do it is by increasing planting indexes, intensifying and utilizing abandoned land,” said Budisatrio.
“Digital technology for agriculture will also be a priority. We will create new rice fields and at the same time increase the productivity of existing land with digital and modern tools and technology. There is no other choice, this must be done,” he continued.
In the context of the presidential election itself, Budisatrio urged that the food crisis should be a healthy discussion because it is related to the country’s future.
“Taking a stand on food issues should be a common agreement. We are actually looking forward to various ideas to address the food crisis from each pair of candidates. From Prabowo Gibran it is clear that we will continue the food estate and perfect it into the Food Barn,” concluded Budisatrio. (SENOPATI)
