Khofifah: Collaboration Key to Making East Java a National Sugar Producer and Rice Barn

East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa has stated that cross-sector collaboration is the main key to making the province the largest sugar producer and one of the national rice barns. “Collaboration is key, East Java has strong capital to continue contributing to Indonesia, as the largest national sugar producer and one of Indonesia’s rice barns,” Khofifah said in an official statement received in Malang, East Java, on Saturday. East Java is able to contribute to 51 percent of national sugar production, where in 2025 the production of white crystal sugar in the region will reach 1.34 million tonnes. In 2026, East Java has been entrusted with implementing a ratoon clearing programme on a land area of 48,315 hectares and a sugarcane area expansion programme covering 6,582 hectares. Thus, the total target for sugarcane development reaches 54,897 hectares spread across 24 sugarcane-producing districts. For rice, based on data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the harvest area for the commodity in East Java in 2025 reached approximately 1.84 million hectares, an increase of 13.88 percent compared to the previous year. The rice production in that period amounted to 10.34 million tonnes of dry unhusked grain, an increase of 12.60 percent compared to the 2024 period. The 2026 rice production is equivalent to approximately 6.03 million tonnes of rice for population consumption, further strengthening East Java’s position as one of the largest rice-producing provinces in Indonesia. Khofifah stressed that these achievements do not stop her administration from continuing to strengthen productivity in the food sector through more intensive collaboration with various parties, especially to support the acceleration of sugar self-sufficiency. “And to bring innovation so that our contribution to national food security becomes even greater,” she said. Khofifah ensured that the provincial government fully supports various strategic programmes initiated by the central government, particularly those concerning the strengthening of national food security. “We are optimistic that national food security will become more robust and Indonesia will be able to realise sustainable food sovereignty,” she said.