Deputy Agriculture Minister Asks HKTI to Act as Government's "Intel", Oversee Food Programmes

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Deputy Minister of Agriculture (Wamentan) and General Chairman of the Indonesian Farmers’ Harmony Association (HKTI), Sudaryono, is encouraging the active role of the farmers’ organisation in overseeing government programmes down to the grassroots level. This emphasis comes amid the government’s efforts to strengthen national food sovereignty, including resolving various technical challenges in the field.

Sudaryono revealed that the Ministry of Agriculture is currently facing challenges in the sugarcane farmers’ ratoon dismantling programme, particularly in finding suitable farmers and locations. This is where HKTI is asked to step in and assist the government.

“The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) wants to help with the sugarcane farmers’ ratoon dismantling. Finding candidate farmers and locations is difficult, so HKTI must be ready to help,” said Sudaryono at the Inno Food Launching event in the Ministry of Agriculture Auditorium, Jakarta, on Monday (27/4/2026).

He stressed that HKTI’s position is not to replace the government’s role, but to serve as a strategic partner bridging central policies with real field conditions.

“HKTI does not replace the government, but HKTI is now in the middle, becoming a strategic partner of the government, so that together we become eyes, ears, mouthpiece, and hands, an extension of the government’s hand,” he stated.

Sudaryono reminded that the organisation’s role cannot be limited to mere symbols or formal structures. HKTI is urged to be more active in directly going to the field to ensure effective programme implementation.

“Therefore, just having a nameplate is not enough, and we must contribute a lot, go down to the field a lot, and so on,” he said.

In a broader context, he linked HKTI’s role to President Prabowo Subianto’s vision regarding food sovereignty. According to him, this target not only covers major commodities like rice, corn, and sugar, but also other commodities that have so far depended on imports.

“Many HKTI leaders are regional heads, and we really hope for the vision and desire of our President (Prabowo Subianto), how Indonesia can achieve food sovereignty, not just rice, not just corn, not just sugar, but those imports can be fulfilled,” said Sudaryono.

On the other hand, he also highlighted the positive impact of the National Nutrition Agency’s (BGN) absorption of agricultural produce through the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) programme. According to him, this programme is starting to reduce farmers’ practices of discarding harvests because they are not absorbed by the market.

“As information, currently alhamdulillah thanks to Prof. Dadan Hindayana, Head of BGN, there are no more vegetable farmers throwing away their carrots, no more fruit farmers throwing away their bananas, no more farmers throwing away unsold vegetables, no more farmers having difficulty selling agricultural products, because most are absorbed by the National Nutrition Agency and SPPG for our MBG,” he explained.

Nevertheless, Sudaryono acknowledged that there are still points in programme implementation that are not optimal. He emphasised that improvements must be made specifically without overhauling the entire programme.

“If there is a good programme, but implementation at certain points is not good, that point is what we must fix. If our house has rats, 2-3 of them, to exterminate the rats, we don’t need to burn the house, just exterminate the rats,” he said.

Furthermore, he gave a firm emphasis that HKTI must function as field supervisors, including reporting deviations in agricultural aid distribution to the implementation of the MBG programme.

“Therefore, HKTI from the centre to the bottom must and can become the eyes and ears and mouthpiece and extension of the government’s hand. If there is something wrong, irrigation is not right, agricultural machinery aid (alsintan) from the Ministry of Agriculture is redeemed, people are asked to pay, report it, we will prosecute,” he asserted.

“If there are rotten MBG kitchens, report it, close it. If there are seed or seedling aids that are not appropriate, report it. So HKTI becomes the government’s intel at the grassroots level,” he continued.

“Can you do it? Thank you,” Sudaryono concluded.