close
close

Indonesia revives dream of becoming the world’s food warehouse – Academia

Posted on by L. Dreeye
Indonesia revives dream of becoming the world’s food warehouse – Academia

In his inauguration speech, President Prabowo Subianto boldly stated that Indonesia can achieve food self-sufficiency and even become the world’s food warehouse within the next four to five years. While this vision is ambitious, it is not new.

Unfortunately, this is still far from reality given the current state of our agricultural sector. Our farmers, both individually and institutionally, face numerous obstacles that make achieving this goal in such a short time almost impossible.

Currently, food self-sufficiency in Indonesia remains more of an aspiration than an achievement. This is reflected in the steady rise in food imports, which underscores the country’s continued dependence on foreign supplies and casts doubt on any immediate prospects for self-sufficiency.

From January to September this year, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported a significant influx of imports of staple foods including rice, corn, soybeans and sugar. Imports of rice alone were 3.23 million tons, corn 0.97 million tons, soybeans 2.16 million tons and sugar 3.66 million tons.

Compared to the same period last year, imports of rice increased by a staggering 80.68 percent, corn by 44.97 percent and soybeans by 15.64 percent. This sharp increase highlights Indonesia’s growing dependence on imported food.

Even more alarming is our dependence on wheat, a food crop that we cannot grow domestically. As of September, Indonesia imported about 9.19 million tons of wheat, up 20.35 percent from the same period last year. This dependence on imported wheat further exacerbates the country’s vulnerability to global supply disruptions and threatens food security.

Every Thursday

Whether you want to expand your horizons or stay up to date with the latest developments, Viewpoint is the ideal resource for anyone looking to tackle the issues that matter most.

for subscribing to our newsletter!

Please check your email for newsletter subscription information.

View more newsletter

Rice imports are expected to reach an all-time high this year, a trend that coincides with a sharp decline in domestic rice production. According to recent BPS forecasts, rice production for food consumption will fall by about 757,134 tons, or 2.43 percent, from last year, marking the second consecutive year of decline.