Indonesia Pushes for Food Self-Sufficiency Amid Global Crisis Risks

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia is strengthening its agricultural resilience to ensure food security remains stable despite mounting geopolitical tensions worldwide.

Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman emphasized that the government’s strategy is to achieve full independence in food production, reducing reliance on imports at a time when global supply chains face increasing disruption.

“The world is facing a serious food crisis threat. Every country must strengthen its food security and avoid dependence on others,” Minister Amran said in Jakarta on Sunday, March 22, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

His remarks come as the World Food Programme (WFP) warns that escalating conflict in the Middle East could push nearly 45 million more people into acute hunger this year.

Rising energy costs, disrupted shipping routes, and higher logistics expenses are expected to fuel food inflation, echoing the crisis triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.

Minister Amran stressed that Indonesia is on the right track toward food self-sufficiency. The government’s agricultural programs focus not only on boosting production but also on building a modern, sustainable system.

“Indonesia has land, water, climate, and human resources. If we maximize them, self-sufficiency is not a dream. Becoming a global food barn is not impossible,” he said.

Recent reforms include intensification -- improving productivity through superior seeds, mechanization, irrigation, and multiple planting cycles -- and extensification, such as creating new rice fields and optimizing swamp lands. These efforts helped Indonesia achieve rice self-sufficiency last year.

The government has also streamlined regulations, issuing 13 presidential decrees in agriculture while scrapping around 500 internal rules that slowed progress.

Fertilizer distribution has been simplified, cutting costs by 20 percent and increasing supply by 700,000 tons without additional budget burdens.

Mechanization has reduced labor needs by up to 90 percent, accelerated planting and harvesting, and lowered production costs by half, directly improving farmers’ welfare.

National rice output reached a surplus of 34.7 million tons in 2025, up 13 percent from the previous year, with government reserves exceeding 4 million tons.

Looking ahead, Indonesia is revitalizing hundreds of thousands of hectares of swamp land in Kalimantan with modern irrigation systems to create new food production zones.

Combined with deregulation, modernization, and expansion, these measures will anchor economic stability and long-term food sovereignty, Minister Amran said.

“We must not fear a global food crisis. This is Indonesia’s moment to stand as a self-sufficient nation and even become a world food barn,” he concluded. ***