President Prabowo Subianto: Regional Food Sovereignty Key to National Strength
President Prabowo Subianto on the groundbreaking event at Bengkayang regency, West Kalimantan province, Thursday (06/05). (Photo by: BPMI Presidential Secretariat)
President Prabowo Subianto Thursday (06/05) emphasized that food self-sufficiency is not solely a national obligation but also a regional responsibility.
“It is not only Indonesia that must achieve self-sufficiency. Each province must be able to stand on its own. Every island must be capable of fulfilling its own food needs. This is the key to our sovereignty, considering Indonesia’s unique character as an archipelagic nation—perhaps the largest archipelagic country in the world,” the President said in Bengkayang regency, West Kalimantan province.
On that occasion, the President also once again expressed optimism regarding the near future achievement of corn self-sufficiency, noting significant production increases reported in the first quarter of 2025.
“I have received assurances from two prominent national figures—Minister of Agriculture and Chief of the Indonesian National Police—that by 2026, Indonesia will no longer need to import corn,” he said, adding that he was thankful for the cross-sector collaboration that has contributed to increased national food production.
The Head of State also stressed the importance of innovation in agricultural processing, including the potential for the development of corn-based derivative products, such as corn chips and corn rice, which are healthier and offer high added value.
He also stated that increased production must be coupled with improvement in the welfare of farmers.
“Our farmers, as the backbone of food production, deserve a decent livelihood. This is our main concern. Therefore, we must strive to reduce production costs for farmers as much as possible—making processes more efficient, identifying areas for government intervention, and providing support through technology, agricultural machinery, seeds, fertilizers, and biofertilizers, which I see as very promising,” he concluded. (BPMI Presidential Secretariat) (GWH/EP)
