Amran Proposes Rp5 Trillion Budget Increase for Ministry of Agriculture to DPR, Citing Key Reasons

Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman has proposed an additional budget of Rp5 trillion for the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) for 2027. The funds are intended to focus on the development of several strategic plantation commodities.

Amran presented this proposal during a working meeting with Commission IV of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI). The additional budget aims to guarantee the supply of raw materials for the processing industry, increase labour absorption, raise farmer incomes, and strengthen import substitution and national export competitiveness.

“In order to ensure the certainty of raw material supplies for the processing industry, increase labour absorption, increase farmer income, as well as strengthen import substitution and national export competitiveness, the Ministry of Agriculture, on 18 August 2024, has written to the Minister of Finance regarding a proposal for an additional expenditure budget of Rp5 trillion, focused on the development of strategic plantation commodities,” Amran stated during the meeting at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, on Tuesday (1/9/2026).

Amran noted that the proposed increase covers the development of coconut, pepper, nutmeg, sugarcane, coffee, cocoa, and cashew commodities. The Ministry of Agriculture also included the procurement of 1,250 units of tractors for sugarcane commodities.

For coconut, development covers 83,279 hectares with a production target of 9,160,690 stalks. Pepper covers 1,071 hectares with a production of 1,256,800 stalks, while nutmeg covers 1,400 hectares with a production of 108,000 stalks.

Furthermore, coffee development covers 54,355 hectares with a production of 54,355,000 stalks. Cocoa covers 100,026 hectares with a production of 100,026,000 stalks, while cashew covers 24,658 hectares with a production of 2,712,380 stalks.

Regarding the 2027 Ministry of Agriculture budget, the proposed Rp5 trillion increase sits above the initial 2027 budget ceiling, which rises from Rp23.23 trillion to Rp28.02 trillion. Of this total, Rp9.8 trillion is allocated for mandatory basic budgets and Rp18.22 trillion is intended to support the National Priority Work Programme (PKPN).

In the draft of the Ministry’s main activities for 202lar, the allocation for paddy commodities reaches Rp9.6 trillion, other food crops Rp1.9 trillion, garlic, chilli, shallots, and P2B at Rp2 trillion, plantation downstreaming at Rp2.3 trillion, and livestock downstreaming at Rp798 billion.

The Ministry has also allocated Rp973 billion for agricultural extension and education, and Rp9.8 trillion for mandatory/binding expenditure. Additionally, there is a draft for the Physical Special Allocation Fund (DAK) for the agricultural sub-sector of Rp111.523 billion for 2027.

During the meeting, the Chairperson of Commission IV of the DPR RI, Siti Hediati Hariyadi, also known as Titiek Soeharto, questioned whether the proposed Rp5 trillion increase would be sufficient to support garlic self-sufficiency.

“With the target of achieving garlic self-sufficiency as soon as possible, is this budget increase sufficient?” Titiek asked.

Amran responded that the Ministry of Agriculture actually wished to increase the budget by up to twofold. However, he noted that the issue of garlic self-sufficiency is not solely related to the budget.

“We actually wanted to increase it by another twofold. However, it is not as easy as turning over one’s palm. We must have a gestation period of about six months,” he explained.

He explained that the Ministry has been working to source garlic seeds from various countries. “We have sent the Director General of Horticulture to India, China, and even across the world, because we want to move quickly on seeds, but it turns out seeds are not easy to obtain. We have gone to China and India, and we will take whatever we can. This is to maximise efforts, but we must secure the seeds first so that by 2028, the scale can be larger,”

Amran stated that the government remains committed to achieving garlic self-sufficiency as soon as possible, but there is a massive gap between current demand and production. “We are striving for self-sufficiency as soon as possible, because our need is 1.1 million tons, whereas production is only 8,000 tons,” said Amran.

According to him, the limitation of seeds is the primary obstacle, rather than the budget. “It is not because of the budget; we could reallocate funds. It is not the budget, but the seeds are extremely limited,” he clarified.

Responding to this, Titiek mentioned that Indonesia already possesses high-quality garlic seeds, citing examples found during a visit to Sembalun. “We are already able to produce good garlic seeds. During our visit to Sembalun, the seeds were excellent. Perhaps those can be multiplied from there,”

She also urged the government to begin preparing new land for garlic cultivation, given that the commodity requires specific altitudes. “What is also needed is the preparation of new lands because garlic requires certain altitudes. While searching for good seeds, the land should be identified in advance. So, once the seeds are available, they can be planted immediately. Furthermore, local seeds should be multiplied; efforts should be made through BRIN and BRMP to ensure they can produce superior garlic seeds,” she concluded.