Jakarta – Commander of the Bravo National Campaign Communication Team (TKN) for 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 a food crisis is imminent.
“The main sector targeted for self-sufficiency by Prabowo Gibran is food, water, and energy. In these sectors, we must no longer rely on imports. Especially in terms of 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 House of Representatives Commission IV, which oversees agriculture, food, and maritime affairs, explained that there is currently a food deficit in Indonesia due to population growth accompanied by a decrease in land productivity. He cited the crisis that has occurred in rice.
“BPS data shows that our population increases by about 3 million people every year. And this increase in population has not been accompanied by an increase in agricultural land. Meanwhile, rice is consumed by almost all citizens,” he said.
Budisatrio added that this deficit cannot be covered by relying on imports from abroad.
“Learning from the wheat incident when the war broke out between Ukraine and Russia, the supply chain was disrupted, causing our wheat prices, which are very dependent on imports, to sharply increase. We must not let this happen to rice, which is our main food source,” he said.
To address this issue, Prabowo Gibran targets a minimum additional four million hectares of agricultural land in a program called Food Barn.
“This Food Barn will start from the smallest level of the village by the farmers, up to the national level by continuing the food estate. The way to do it is by increasing the planting index, intensifying and utilizing idle land,” said Budisatrio.
“Digital technology for agriculture will also be a priority. We will create new rice fields and at the same time 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 be the subject of healthy discussion because it is related to the country’s future.
“Taking a stand on the food issue should be a joint agreement. We are actually looking forward to a variety of ideas to address the food crisis from each pair of candidates. From Prabowo Gibran, it is clear that we will continue the food estate and perfect it into a Food Barn,” concluded Budisatrio. (SENOPATI)
