Jakarta – Commander of the Communication Team Bravo National Campaign Team (TKN) Prabowo Gibran, Budisatrio Djiwandono, explained that the nation’s self-sufficiency in food will be the top priority if the pair number 2 is elected to lead Indonesia. This must be done because the food crisis is imminent.
“The main sector targeted for self-sufficiency by Prabowo Gibran is food, water, and energy. In this sector, we must not rely on imports anymore. Specifically regarding food, Mr. Prabowo has stated that food is a matter of life and death for a nation,” explained Budisatrio to journalists in Jakarta (Sunday, 13/1).
The leader 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 growth is not accompanied by an increase in cultivated land. Meanwhile, rice is consumed by almost all citizens,” he said.
Budisatrio continued that the deficit cannot be covered by relying on imports from other countries.
“Learning from the incident with wheat during the Ukraine-Russia war, the supply chain was disrupted, causing the price of wheat, which is highly dependent on imports, to skyrocket. We must not let this happen to rice, which is our main food,” he said.
To address this, Prabowo Gibran targets a minimum increase of four million hectares of cultivated land in a program called the Food Barn.
“This Food Barn will exist from the smallest level in the villages by farmers, to the national level by continuing the food estate. The way to do this is by increasing planting indices, intensifying and utilizing fallow 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 should be the subject of healthy discussions because it is related to the future of the country.
“Support for food issues should be a common agreement. We actually look 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 the Food Barn,” concluded Budisatrio. (SENOPATI)
Sumber: https://prabowosubianto.com/krisis-pangan-di-depan-mata-prabowo-gibran-siapkan-swasembada-lewat-program-lumbung-pangan/