Jakarta – Commander of the Bravo Team National Campaign (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 that sector, we should no longer depend on imports. Specifically 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 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 our population increases by about 3 million people every year. And this population increase is not accompanied by an increase in agricultural land. Whereas rice is consumed by almost all citizens,” he said.
Budisatrio continued that the deficit cannot be covered by relying on imports from abroad.
“Learning from the wheat incident during the Ukraine-Russia war, the supply chain was disrupted, causing our wheat prices, which are highly dependent on imports, to sharply increase. We must not let this also happen to rice, which is our main source of food,” he said.
To address this issue, Prabowo Gibran targets a minimum increase of four million hectares of agricultural land in a program called Food Barn.
“This food barn will exist from the smallest level of villages by farmers, to the national level by continuing the food estate. The way to do this is by increasing planting indexes, intensifying and utilizing abandoned 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 continued.
In the context of the presidential election itself, Budisatrio urged that the food crisis can be discussed as a healthy idea because it is related to the future of the country.
“Taking sides on food issues should be a mutual agreement. We actually look forward to a variety of ideas to confront 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 Barn,” Budisatrio concluded. (SENOPATI)
