Agriculture Minister says collaboration with Danantara to accelerate B50 and E20 implementation

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that his ministry is collaborating with Danantara to accelerate the implementation of B50 biodiesel and E20 ethanol fuels, in order to bolster national energy resilience amid the global geopolitical situation.

Amran said that accelerating bioenergy is part of the direct instructions from President Prabowo Subianto, which must be carried out collaboratively across sectors.

“This is the President’s directive. We, along with SOEs and Danantara, are collaborating to realise the President’s grand vision,” the Minister said in his statement in Jakarta on Thursday.

The Ministry of Agriculture, together with SOEs, is accelerating the development of national bioenergy, from biodiesel to ethanol, as a strategic step towards energy independence.

He emphasised that one of the main focuses at present is the implementation of B50 biodiesel, targeted to begin this year.

“The President’s directive is biofuel. With B50, we stop importing 5 million tonnes of diesel. This is an extraordinary achievement. It will create jobs, reduce poverty, and improve welfare,” he stressed.

In addition to biodiesel, the government is also pushing for the acceleration of ethanol development as part of the national energy mix through the E20 mandate.

“The latest is ethanol. We are heading towards the E20 mandate. We need 8 million tonnes of ethanol. What does that mean? One day we will be independent because Brazil now has E70, E100,” he explained.

The Minister affirmed that if the entire bioenergy ecosystem runs optimally, the impact on the national economy will be significant.

“If all this is independent, insya Allah, it will create jobs, reduce poverty, lower unemployment, increase welfare, and we will seize the golden Indonesia,” he said.

He added that the current implementation of B40 has even reduced dependence on energy imports.

“And with B40 now, we actually no longer import diesel. With B50 later, we will even export diesel. So now B40 has been fulfilled,” he continued.

To support the E20 mandate, the construction of ethanol production facilities is being accelerated.

The Minister also conveyed achievements in the food sector as a strong foundation in supporting the national bioenergy agenda. These achievements are also followed by significant improvements in farmers’ welfare and agricultural sector growth.

“Now we have fulfilled one, food, it has become a reality. The four-year self-sufficiency target (rice), alhamdulillah, became a reality in one year. Today our rice stock is 4.7 million tonnes. That is the highest in history,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Managing Director Business 2 of Danantara, Setyanto Hantoro, expressed his party’s readiness to support the bioenergy programme implementation, especially biodiesel and ethanol.

“B50 is already okay, now ethanol. Now B40 has been fulfilled,” Setyanto said.