Minister Amran Invites USU Students to Safeguard Food Self-Sufficiency Through Innovation

Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has invited students at the University of North Sumatra (USU) to safeguard the sustainability of national food self-sufficiency through innovation. The minister stated that North Sumatra Province has become a key contributor to Indonesia’s success in achieving national food self-sufficiency in 2025. “One of the best contributors to this self-sufficiency is North Sumatra. Its production has risen significantly,” Amran said during a public lecture by the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture themed ‘Innovation and Collaboration of the Young Generation Towards Food Self-Sufficiency’, attended by North Sumatra Deputy Governor Surya in Medan on Wednesday. The minister also revealed before thousands of students that Indonesia has achieved the fastest and highest food self-sufficiency in the history of the Republic of Indonesia’s independence. Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicate that the leap in Indonesia’s agricultural sector ranks second best in the world after Brazil. According to him, North Sumatra made a major contribution to this achievement by recording rice production of 2.75 million tonnes of milled dry grain and corn production reaching 1.2 million tonnes. “Currently, our Bulog warehouses are full to capacity, forcing us to rent additional storage to accommodate national stocks reaching five million tonnes,” he said. Amran noted that the Bulog Regional Office for North Sumatra in Medan reported its warehouses, with a capacity of 73,000 tonnes, are completely full. “To anticipate the increase in food stocks, Bulog has rented additional warehouses with a capacity of 21,000 tonnes,” he added. He also outlined strategies to boost food production through a pump irrigation programme and the modernisation of agricultural technology, such as the use of drones for planting. Amran further emphasised the Ministry of Agriculture’s commitment to eradicating fraudulent practices in the agricultural sector. He revealed that to date, 77 suspects linked to agricultural and fertiliser mafias have been prosecuted. “In addition, more than a dozen internal ministry officials have been dismissed for involvement in violations,” he explained. The minister also highlighted the disparity in fresh fruit bunch prices at the farmer level due to under-invoicing practices by certain companies, which he said harms state revenue. “We at the Ministry of Agriculture will not retreat a single step in protecting farmers and future generations. We will clean up these mafias so that our agricultural sector remains healthy and sustainable,” Amran asserted. USU Rector Prof Dr Muryanto Amin SSos MSi expressed appreciation for the presence of the Agriculture Minister and the Deputy Governor of North Sumatra on campus. He described Amran as an inspirational figure for students due to his life journey and his efforts in developing the national agricultural sector. “The Minister is a highly inspirational figure. He started life from the bottom and succeeded in becoming an academic, an entrepreneur, and is now trusted as a minister who has brought Indonesia to food self-sufficiency,” he said. “His presence provides real theory and information that strengthens us in facing global challenges,” Muryanto added.