The government is beginning to formulate concrete steps to curb\nsoybean import dependency by gradually increasing domestic production\nuntil 2029. The Ministry of Agriculture is preparing various\ninterventions from upstream to downstream, ranging from land provision,\nsuperior seeds, to market guarantees for farmers.<\/p>\n
Dyah Susilokarti, Director of Nuts and Tubers at the Ministry of\nAgriculture, stated that production increases are already being promoted\nthis year, although their contribution to national needs remains\nlimited.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo support soybean production increases in 2026, seed aid is\nallocated for 37,500 hectares (ha), with a production target of 60,000\ntonnes. This result is certainly still far from needs,\u201d Dyah told CNBC\nIndonesia on Thursday (26\/3\/2026).<\/p>\n
Dyah explained that the most fundamental factor for accelerating\nsoybean production increases is the existence of a Government Purchase\nPrice (HPP), as already applies to rice and corn.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition, soybean trade must be managed by SOEs as competent\nstabilisers, both for imports and domestic soybeans. In the strategy to\nachieve soybean self-sufficiency, there are 10 requirements that must be\nmet,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The ten main requirements for achieving soybean self-sufficiency,\naccording to Dyah, range from land availability up to 1.8 million\nhectares, the use of superior seeds around 90,000 tonnes, to support for\nproduction facilities such as fertiliser, pesticides, agricultural\nmachinery, and irrigation.<\/p>\n
In addition, financing factors, human resource mentoring, downstream\nprocessing, market certainty, and protection from soybean imports are\nalso primary prerequisites. Dyah emphasised that the entire programme\ndesign is structured to gradually reduce imports and strengthen domestic\nproduction.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the soybean self-sufficiency plan, we are designing soybean\ndevelopment based on national needs by reducing imports,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She added that the self-sufficiency target until 2029 is still in the\nplanning stage and heavily depends on budget support and the farming\nbusiness ecosystem.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the stages to achieve self-sufficiency by 2029, it is a plan\nthat just needs to be supported by the full Saprodi budget package, as\nwell as market and price guarantees at the farmer level, so that farmers\nare enthusiastic about planting,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n
Gradually, national soybean production is targeted to increase\nsignificantly over the next five years. In 2025, production will only\nreach around 79,000 tonnes with import dependency up to 97% of\nconsumption. This figure is targeted to rise to 425,000 tonnes in 2026,\nthen jump to 1.53 million tonnes in 2027 and 2.52 million tonnes in\n2028. The peak in 2029 projects production to reach 3.12 million tonnes,\napproaching national consumption needs of around 3 million tonnes, so\nimports are hoped to be reduced to zero.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Wibowo Nur Cahyo, Secretary General of the Indonesian\nTempeh and Tofu Producers Cooperative Union (Gakoptindo), supports the\nMinistry of Agriculture\u2019s programme which is starting to refocus on\nincreasing soybean production.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegarding domestic soybean supply, the government is currently\npreparing for that process. Of course, this starts from the beginning\nagain, because for two consecutive years, 2024 and 2025, there was no\nsoybean programme, and the soybean programme is only available in 2026,\nwith a target area of 37,500 hectares,\u201d Wibowo said when contacted\nseparately.<\/p>\n
In line with that, Wibowo highlighted soybean prices, especially\nimports, which remain a challenge for tempeh and tofu artisans.<\/p>\n
It should be noted that soybean prices in Indonesia have risen at the\nartisan level for tempeh and tofu. As of 18 March 2026, based on data\nmanaged by Gakoptindo, soybean prices at the artisan cooperative level\nwere recorded in the range of Rp9,700 to Rp12,000 per kg, with the\nmajority in the Rp10,000-Rp10,800 per kg range.<\/p>\n
For example, in West Java, soybean prices range from\nRp10,100-Rp10,400 per kg, while in Jakarta they reach Rp10,400-Rp10,700\nper kg. In some regions like West Sumatra, they even touch Rp12,000 per\nkg.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, of course, regarding the increase in imported soybean prices,\nit has indeed increased. The possibility of another price increase could\nhappen. It could happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to him, the price increase is influenced by various global\nand domestic factors, from prices at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT),\nexchange rates, to geopolitical conditions and supply-demand\nbalance.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking at the current situation, both geopolitics, our national\neconomy, and soybean conditions. If there is an increase, there will be\nan increase, that\u2019s what will happen,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, tempeh and tofu artisans are said to be accustomed to\ndealing with price fluctuations with various field adjustments.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we are used to dealing with it, our artisans are used to dealing\nwith such things,\u201d Wibowo said.<\/p>\n
The government\u2019s efforts to promote domestic production are seen as\nan important step to reduce pressure from global price volatility.\nHowever, the success of this programme will be greatly determined by\npolicy consistency, budget support, and price and market guarantees for\nfarmers.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/amran-makes-bold-moves-to-reduce-soybean-imports-impact-felt-by-2029-1774507887", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }