President Prabowo Reviews Rice Field Development, Food Security Efforts

Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman

President Prabowo Subianto Wednesday (07/30) met with several cabinet ministers at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta to discuss the progress of the national rice field development program in several priority areas and food security.

“First, Mr. President asked about the progress of the rice field development program. I reported that the program is running well in South Papua, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and South Sumatra,” Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman said after the meeting.

The Minister stated that such a program is a key component of the Government’s strategy to boost national food production. He also expressed confidence that it would be completed on schedule. “Inshallah, we hope to finish it on time,” he added.

According to Amran, the Head of State also inquired about the current condition of food production and availability.

“The ongoing production is on track, and our food stocks are secure,” the Minister said.

Amran went on to say that to maintain price stability and ensure food affordability, the Government is intensifying market operations. These efforts include the distribution of subsidized rice and large-scale social assistance programs. He also reported that Indonesia’s current rice reserves stand at 4.2 million tons, enough to meet the public’s short-term food needs.

“We’ve launched major market operations and implemented the stabilization of food supplies and prices (SPHP) program, which includes 1.3 million tons of subsidized rice and 360,000 tons allocated for social assistance, bringing the total to 1.5 million tons,” the Minister remarked. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (GWH/MUR)