Agriculture Minister Amran Tours Bulog Warehouse in East Java with Students: Results Extraordinary!
The national government rice reserves (CBP) currently stand at 4.9 million tonnes. East Java is one of the largest contributors with stocks of around 1.2 million tonnes. At the Bulog warehouse in Sidoarjo, storage capacity is visibly full, necessitating the addition of rented warehouses for support.
The day before, President Prabowo Subianto conducted a surprise inspection (sidak) at a Bulog warehouse in Magelang, Central Java, to directly ensure the availability of national rice stocks. This step was taken to confirm the real conditions on the ground.
During the President’s inspection, the entourage directly viewed a warehouse with a capacity of 7,000 tonnes that was fully filled. This finding strengthens the government’s confidence that national rice stocks are in a safe condition.
This achievement is supported by significantly increased production performance. National rice production in 2025 is recorded to have risen by 4.07 million tonnes or 13.29%. With the total national rice stock strength now, including those in society and potential harvests, estimated to reach 28 million tonnes, equivalent to food security for the next 11 months.
Agriculture Minister (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman invited students, professors, and agricultural experts in East Java to check the Bulog warehouse in Sidoarjo on Sunday (19/4/2026). He emphasised that the current abundant rice stocks are an achievement that has never happened before.
The Minister wants all elements of society to directly see and ensure the abundant and safe rice stocks. During the inspection, the General Coordinator of the Sidoarjo Delta BEM Alliance, Sultan Saladin Batubara, appreciated the achievement while conveying views from the student perspective.
“As of today, we know nationally there are 4.9 million tonnes under the Minister’s leadership. And in my personal opinion, with East Java at 1.2 million tonnes, this means it’s the largest contributor of rice,” said Sultan.
To the students who joined in checking the Bulog warehouse, Minister Amran asked them to directly see the real conditions on the ground. “Is there a lot of rice here? Since the Republic of Indonesia’s independence, has it ever been like this? It has never happened, right?” said Minister Amran.
The students responded in unison, “It has never happened.” Minister Amran emphasised that this achievement occurred in the current government, while also opening space for collaboration in distribution oversight.
“Well, now for distribution, please help with collaboration. The important thing first is for you to see, check all warehouses in Indonesia wherever they are, please students, NGOs, please check. Don’t make opinions that are not true,” he said.
In response to Minister Amran’s offer, Sultan along with other students stated their readiness to participate in the distribution process. “As students, we are ready to become partners of the government to escort the distribution directly on the ground.”
Minister Amran also mentioned that there are parties who do not want Indonesia to achieve food sovereignty. “Do you know? Indeed, there are certain people who are not happy with self-sufficiency. I ask the students, who do you think is not happy if we achieve food sovereignty?” The students spontaneously answered, “Mafia, rice mafia, importers.”
Minister Amran then invited the students to take a firm stance against such practices. “So we must fight it, right? Yes, students, we fight the mafia. Yes, like that, challenge, anyway challenge,” he asserted.
Furthermore, Minister Amran emphasised that the rice self-sufficiency achievement is supported by data from credible institutions. “This data is not conveyed by the ministry, not Bulog. But it can be verified with Bulog. The ones conveying rice self-sufficiency, first BPS, then FAO. Then USDA,” he explained.
Minister Amran also revealed the condition of warehouses that have exceeded capacity, necessitating additional rentals.
“This fact we see, full warehouses, how many rented warehouses? 205 units. Capacity? 615 thousand. We rent because all warehouses are full. Now, 250 thousand tonnes have been filled. That’s queuing outside,” he disclosed.
At the end of the dialogue, Amran reaffirmed the importance of siding with farmers in maintaining national food sovereignty.
“If someone says there is no rice self-sufficiency, that means they want imports, right? If they want imports, that means they are pro to farmers of other countries. That means they are betraying Indonesia’s 100 million farmers. Right?” he concluded.