Agriculture Minister Amran affirms Indonesia's experience in facing El Niño
Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has emphasised that Indonesia possesses strong experience in confronting El Niño, enabling the country to safeguard national food production stability through measured adaptation and mitigation strategies.
“(El Niño) Godzilla is said to bring six months of drought. But it seems the previous El Niño in 2015 was even more severe. We already have experience managing El Niño with our colleagues in 2015, 2023, 2024. La Niña, El Niño,” the Minister stated during a visit to the Bulog Panaikang Warehouse in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Sunday.
The Minister acknowledged that the impacts of extreme hot weather are beginning to be felt and could potentially affect agricultural production. However, the government has prior experience in handling similar conditions in previous years.
He also highlighted various strategic measures implemented to strengthen the production system, from increasing pump irrigation to optimising swamp land.
The Ministry of Agriculture will optimise the operation of 80,158 water pump units distributed in 2025 to farmer groups nationwide to address potential extreme El Niño droughts starting in April 2026.
Furthermore, the Minister stated that the government will soon add around 40,000 water pump units to anticipate prolonged dry spells this year, thereby maintaining stable national agricultural water availability for Indonesian farmers.
“I’m adding pump irrigation. Yes, hopefully 40,000. So, it will be even stronger. So, no need to worry about El Niño because our defences are solid. Because we already have pump irrigation, irrigation, and then the swamp land that we previously planted once, we repair the irrigation, plant twice, three times,” he explained.
He urged the public not to worry about the current extreme weather conditions, as the government has prepared various measured mitigation steps.
“So, it’s already safe. Food is safe,” he asserted.
In addition, he affirmed that national food resilience is currently in a very strong position, supported by abundant rice stocks. The government’s rice stocks stored in Perum Bulog warehouses have reached the highest figure in Indonesia’s history, touching 4.5 million tonnes at the beginning of April 2026.
Besides stocks in government warehouses, Minister Amran also revealed food availability in other sectors and ongoing production potential.
“The second is in Horeka (hotels, restaurants, cafes/catering) according to our managed data, that’s 12.5 million tonnes. Then our standing crop that’s currently planted and ready for harvest is 11 million tonnes. That means already 23 million tonnes,” he explained.
With that total availability, he estimated that national food needs can be met for a long period, even surpassing the peak drought period.
“That means for the next 11 months, it’s safe. Stocks for the Indonesian people are safe for the next 11 months. Whereas the drought is 6 months. So, it’s safe, right?” he said.