Government Prepares to Face Potential Climate and Food Crises
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Amid global economic uncertainties due to geopolitical conflicts, Indonesia must still prepare to face the looming climate and food crises. For this reason, the Government considers food sovereignty to be increasingly crucial.
Deputy for Coordinating Food and Agriculture Affairs at the Coordinating Ministry for Food, Widiastuti, stated that climate change is closely linked to the urgency of creating food security. This is because such natural phenomena can trigger volatility in food-related sectors.
“Climate change that is indeed quite extreme, geopolitical conflicts that have not subsided, and global supply chains that have some disruptions—perhaps some have improved, but others remain—and this directly impacts the food sector,” she said during the CNBC Indonesia Coffee Morning programme themed Securing Indonesia’s Food Sovereignty through Value Chain and Financing Amid Global Disruption at Parle, Senayan, on Tuesday (28/4/2026).
According to Widiastuti, global food prices have become increasingly volatile in recent times. The state budget burden is also growing heavier in meeting food needs amid price fluctuations. Inter-country dependencies are also potentially increasing due to the effects of climate change and geopolitical conflicts. From this, food sovereignty becomes increasingly important to realise immediately.
“This needs to be followed up so that it becomes a real need. Because we know that what we are preparing now is how to ensure our food security. Last year, in 2025, rice self-sufficiency was achieved, but this does not stop at rice self-sufficiency alone. It does not stop at 2025 alone with the existing geopolitical conditions and quite extreme climate. This is what we must address,” she explained.
As an example, climate change has created quite extreme weather disruptions such as the Godzilla El Niño phenomenon. Indonesia must certainly prepare, given that such weather disruptions can affect the agricultural sector as a producer of food staples. There is a risk of crop failure if weather disruptions due to climate change continue.
Therefore, the government emphasises the importance of strengthening irrigation systems so that rice fields managed by farmers can continue to be irrigated. This effort is being carried out through coordination between ministries and agencies, including collaboration with various agriculture and agribusiness associations as well as corporations like PT Pupuk Indonesia.
“For instance, the irrigation that we are doing. The watering is currently being processed; we are promoting it to synchronise irrigation points across Indonesia,” said Widiastuti.
She also emphasised that food security should be understood as a country’s ability to meet its food needs independently. This has been proven when Indonesia achieved rice self-sufficiency in 2025, with no rice imports throughout the previous year. This achievement should not stop there, as the government has set a target for food sovereignty by 2029.
“And no less important is that the President has set 2045 as Golden Indonesia. So the process must still be carried out together. Coordination and cooperation are very much needed,” Widiastuti concluded.