Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono: Government Prepares Free Seeds to Support Maize Self-Sufficiency
Deputy Minister of Agriculture (Wamentan) Sudaryono stated that the government is preparing free maize seed assistance for up to 1 million hectares of farmland to accelerate increased national maize production and support maize self-sufficiency.
This was announced by Deputy Minister Sudaryono during the coordinated maize planting event for the first quarter of 2026, held in Ogan Ilir, South Sumatra, on Saturday, 7 March 2026.
According to Deputy Minister Sudaryono, the success of agricultural sector development is supported by four main factors: seed availability, irrigation, fertiliser, and price certainty for farmers’ harvest.
“In agriculture there are four important matters, namely seeds, water or irrigation, fertiliser, and after harvest the price must be purchased at a good rate,” said Deputy Minister Sudaryono.
He explained that the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) has prepared various strategic measures to ensure these four components are met. One of them is through the provision of free maize seeds to farmers.
“Kementan is preparing free maize seeds for 1 million hectares of land out of a total of approximately 2.5 million hectares of national maize farmland,” the Deputy Minister explained in a statement released on Monday, 9 March 2026.
The government is also strengthening agricultural infrastructure support through revitalisation of irrigation networks nationally. “The President has allocated Rp 12 trillion for revitalisation of primary, secondary, and tertiary irrigation networks in 2025, and this programme will continue in subsequent years,” he added.
On the other hand, the government is simplifying the distribution of subsidised fertiliser and providing additional incentives for farmers. “The quota for subsidised fertiliser is met and the distribution mechanism is simplified. Even an additional price reduction of approximately 20 per cent is provided,” he said.
Deputy Minister Sudaryono emphasised that the government guarantees the purchase price of farmers’ harvests to remain profitable. “The government sets the harvest purchase price, namely Rp 6,500 per kilogram for rice and Rp 5,500 per kilogram for maize,” he said.
In an interactive dialogue at the event, the Regional Police Chief of Central Kalimantan, Iwan Kurniawan, reported the development of maize cultivation in his region through an intercropping system on palm oil plantation land.
According to him, the area of palm oil plantations in Central Kalimantan reaching approximately 2.1 million hectares creates opportunities for utilising inter-row land for maize development.
Additionally, he conveyed that there is a need for support for agricultural machinery and equipment (alsintan), such as dryers and equipment supporting maize cultivation practices, to increase farmer productivity.
Responding to this report, Deputy Minister Sudaryono ensured that the government would follow up on these needs. “I request that expert staff immediately follow up on alsintan needs, including maize cultivation guidance in palm oil plantations. This is one effort to increase maize production, particularly on young palm oil plantations,” said Deputy Minister Sudaryono.
Meanwhile, the Chief of the Indonesian National Police, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, emphasised that coordinated maize planting is part of a national effort to strengthen food self-reliance amid global dynamics.
“This coordinated maize planting activity is a follow-up to the President’s direction in strengthening food self-sufficiency. We must utilise all the potential we have so that Indonesia becomes increasingly self-reliant in meeting its food needs,” said Sigit.
He also conveyed that nationally the maize planting programme continues to be expanded to increase domestic production. “We have already planted more than 600,000 hectares with production potential of approximately 3.9 to 4 million tonnes. Going forward, the target is to achieve planting of up to 1 million hectares or more,” he explained.
Through collaboration between the government, law enforcement officials, local governments, and farmers, the coordinated maize planting programme is expected to strengthen national production whilst improving farmer welfare.