Bulog Confident Indonesia Will Maintain Rice Self-Sufficiency Despite El Niño
JAKARTA - State-owned enterprise PT Perum Bulog is optimistic that Indonesia can maintain rice self-sufficiency even as the country faces the Godzilla El Niño phenomenon in 2026.
Bulog’s President Director Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani stated that the current national rice stock is very strong and capable of withstanding climate pressures and geopolitical turbulence.
“With this strong rice stock, we are optimistic about supporting the realisation of food self-sufficiency as targeted by the government,” Rizal said in an official statement on Thursday (9/4/2026).
Rizal noted that the Government Rice Reserve (CBP) stock currently stands at 4.6 million tonnes.
“The national rice stock condition is assured to be safe for the next 11 months. El Niño is expected to last six months, so insya Allah our food supply will be secure,” Rizal remarked.
Rizal added that Bulog is committed to distributing this rice stock evenly across the entire country, including to remote areas.
Bulog continues to maximise CBP management strategies by increasing paddy procurement volumes, ensuring equitable distribution, and strengthening the logistics system.
Separately, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that Bulog’s warehouses are no longer sufficient to accommodate the abundant rice.
According to Amran, Bulog’s warehouse capacity is only 3 million tonnes, yet the current CBP volume has reached 4.6 million tonnes.
“We have rented warehouses with a capacity of 2 million tonnes,” Amran said at the Parliamentary Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Wednesday (8/4/2026).
The government will deploy 80,000 pump units in various regions to irrigate rice fields, ensuring agricultural production continues.
Farmers will receive these facilities free of charge.
“There is a pump distribution programme; we are spreading around 80,000 units across Indonesia, costing approximately Rp 3-4 trillion,” Amran explained.
The government announced rice self-sufficiency in early January after successfully avoiding rice imports throughout 2025.
The self-sufficiency announcement was delivered directly by President Prabowo Subianto in Karawang, West Java.