Jakarta – Commander of the Bravo National Campaign Team (TKN) Communication Team, 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 is absolutely necessary because the food crisis is imminent.
“The main sector targeted for self-sufficiency by Prabowo Gibran is food, water, and energy. In these sectors, we must no longer depend on imports. Specifically regarding food, Mr. Prabowo has stated that food is a matter of life and death for a nation,” explained Budisatrio to reporters in Jakarta (Sunday, 13/1).
The chairman of Commission IV of the Indonesian House of Representatives, which oversees agriculture, food, and maritime affairs, explained that there is currently a food deficit in Indonesia due to population growth accompanied by a decrease in land productivity. He cited the crisis that has occurred with rice.
“BPS data shows that our population increases by about 3 million people each year. And this population increase is not accompanied by an increase in arable land. However, 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 with wheat when the conflict between Ukraine and Russia broke out, the supply chain was disrupted, causing the price of our heavily imported wheat to rise sharply. We must not let this happen with rice, which is our main food source,” he said.
To address this, Prabowo Gibran is targeting a minimum increase of four million hectares of arable land in a program called the Food Granary.
“This food granary will start from the smallest level in villages by farmers, to the national level by continuing the food estate. The way to do this is by increasing crop planting indices, intensifying and utilizing idle land,” Budisatrio said.
“Digital technology for agriculture will also be a priority. We will create new rice fields, as well as increase the productivity of existing land with digital and modern tools and technology. There is no other choice, this must be done,” he added.
In the context of the presidential election, Budisatrio urged that the food crisis be seen as a healthy discussion as it is related to the future of the country.
“Taking sides on the issue of food should be a collective agreement. We actually look forward to a variety of 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 improve it into a Food Granary,” concluded Budisatrio. (SENOPATI)
