Jakarta – Commander of the Bravo National Campaign Team (TKN) Prabowo Gibran, Budisatrio Djiwandono, explained that the nation’s self-reliance in food will be the top priority if the pair number 2 is elected to lead Indonesia. This is absolutely necessary, because a 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 rely on imports. Specifically about food, Mr. Prabowo has stated that food is a matter of life and death for a nation,” said Budisatrio to reporters in Jakarta (Sunday, 1/13).
The leader of the Indonesian House of Representatives 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 in rice.
“BPS data shows that every year our population increases by about 3 million people. And this population growth is not accompanied by an increase in arable land. Yet rice is consumed by almost all citizens,” he said.
This deficit, according to Budisatrio, cannot be covered by relying on imports from abroad.
“Learning from the incident of wheat when the Ukraine-Russia war broke out, the supply chain was disrupted, causing the price of our wheat, which is very dependent on imports, to increase sharply. We must not let this happen to rice, which is our main food,” he said.
To address this, Prabowo Gibran targets a minimum addition of four million hectares of arable land in a program called the Food Barn.
“This food barn will exist from the smallest level of the village by the farmers, to the national level by continuing the food estate. The way to do this is by increasing the planting index, intensifying and utilizing fallow land,” said Budisatrio.
“Digital technology for agriculture will also be a priority. We will create new paddy 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 continued.
In the context of the presidential election itself, Budisatrio urged that the food crisis be made a healthy discussion as it is related to the future of the country.
“Taking a stand on food issues should be a common agreement. Instead, we 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 perfect it into the Food Barn,” concluded Budisatrio. (SENOPATI)
