RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia's ViceMinister of Industry, Faisol Riza, said cassava downstream development plays a vital role in supporting the country's food diversification agenda, as mandated under Presidential Regulation No. 81 of 2024 on Accelerating Food Diversification Based on Local Resources.

"Downstream development and food diversification are not separate agendas. They complement each other in building a more resilient, competitive, and sustainable national food industry," Faisol said in a statement on Friday, July 17, 2026.

According to him, the government has introduced a range of strategic policies to ensure the successful development of the cassava processing industry. "We have established key policy instruments to protect Indonesia's cassava industry while ensuring a stable supply of raw materials for domestic processing industries," he explained.

The government is also strengthening protection for the cassava industry through the implementation of Indonesian National Standards (SNI) and import approval mechanisms based on technical assessments. These policies are designed using a backward and forward linkage approach to strengthen industrial value chains while leveraging regional comparative advantages through the development of food production clusters.

"Effective regulations must be accompanied by stronger industrial capacity. The ability of businesses to adopt modern production technologies is essential to improving productivity and the competitiveness of Indonesia's food industry," Faisol emphasized.

The Vice Minister also praised the Lampung Provincial Government for issuing regulations on cassava governance and downstream development aimed at fostering fairer partnerships between farmers and businesses.

He said the policy should be implemented at the district and municipal levels so its benefits can reach more farmers and businesses. This is particularly important because Lampung is Indonesia's largest cassava-producing province, contributing approximately 51 percent of the country's total cassava production.

"I appreciate the Lampung Provincial Government's commitment to strengthening the competitiveness of the regional cassava industry. Strong collaboration between the central government, local governments, businesses, and all stakeholders is crucial to ensuring that downstream development delivers tangible benefits for both farmers and industry," he said.

Meanwhile, Reni Yanita, Director General of Small, Medium, and Miscellaneous Industries (IKMA), said the program aims to improve local governments' and stakeholders' understanding of the importance of developing cassava processing industries to increase the value of local agricultural commodities.

"We are also using this opportunity to promote the Special Allocation Fund (DAK) program while encouraging partnerships between SMEs and downstream industries to build stronger supply chains," Reni said.

She noted that downstream industrial development requires not only supportive regulations but also cross-sector collaboration. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry is working closely with the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas), the Indonesian Bread, Biscuit, and Instant Noodle Industry Association (AROBIM), and PT Thai Wah Indonesia as strategic partners.

"The participation of large industries is essential because they can provide SMEs with direct insights into market demand, quality standards, processing technologies, and supply chain management practices. This will help SMEs improve product quality and become part of Indonesia's national industrial supply chain," she added.