Agriculture Ministry strengthens food oversight to safeguard national economic stability

The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) is strengthening food sector oversight to maintain national economic stability, protect the public, and ensure the smooth and controlled distribution of strategic food supplies across all regions. Agriculture Ministry Inspector General Irham Waroihan emphasised the need for enhanced oversight to prevent food mafia practices that harm the public, disrupt distribution, and affect national food price stability. ‘The strengthened oversight follows various dynamics in the food supply chain often exploited by certain individuals for profit through distribution manipulation, hoarding, or price manipulation on the ground,’ Waroihan stated in Jakarta on Friday. He added that food mafia activities typically emerge when the government implements strategic policies directly tied to public welfare and national food security. ‘Whenever strategic policies are introduced for national and public interests, the food mafia always seeks loopholes, including in the cooking oil supply chain,’ Waroihan said. The government is reinforcing palm oil and cooking oil supply chains to ensure distribution and supply meet public needs. One measure is the domestic market obligation (DMO) policy to guarantee domestic supply. However, he stressed that continued oversight is necessary to ensure policies are implemented correctly and not exploited by parties for profit at the public’s expense. Therefore, Kementan is enhancing comprehensive oversight from upstream to downstream to ensure smooth food distribution, adequate supply, and stable prices. ‘Strict oversight from upstream to downstream is essential as it concerns the welfare of the public,’ he said. Kementan is also strengthening inter-ministerial and institutional coordination, including with law enforcement, regional governments, and businesses, to maintain national food stability. These steps aim to ensure optimal price stabilisation, supply availability, distribution, and food reserve management on the ground. If violations such as hoarding or price manipulation are found, Kementan will enforce strict and measured legal action. ‘Legal enforcement must serve as a deterrent to prevent recurrence of such practices,’ Waroihan stressed. Amid food price fluctuations, Kementan urged the public to remain calm and trust ongoing strengthened oversight. ‘We hope the public remains calm and confident that the government will take concrete steps, including field oversight and regulatory enhancements. The government will not stand idly by against food mafia,’ he said. Previously, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stressed that legal enforcement against food mafia must be strict and uncompromising to protect the public and maintain national food stability. ‘As per President Prabowo’s directive, we are tasked with achieving food self-sufficiency and enforcing the law when there is misconduct. There is no compromise,’ the minister said. He also affirmed that anti-food mafia efforts target both external actors and internal ministry personnel. Kementan data shows 94 cases handled from 2024–2025: 46 rice, 27 fertilizer, 16 oil, and 3 involving internal staff, totaling 77 suspects. Additionally, 2,231 problematic retail and distributor fertilizer licences have been revoked. Over the past 10 months, the ministry has referred 260 cases to law enforcement authorities (APH). One major case involved blended rice scandals. From 268 samples tested in 13 labs across 10 provinces, 212 premium and medium rice brands failed to meet quality, weight, and government maximum retail price (HET) standards. The tests revealed 85.56% of premium rice did not meet standards, potentially costing consumers up to Rp99.35 trillion annually. Thus, Kementan will continue strengthening oversight and enforcement against food mafia practices to protect the public and safeguard national food security.