Minister claims Indonesia achieves food self-sufficiency based on FAO standards

Minister of Agriculture Amran Sulaiman has stated that Indonesia has successfully achieved food self-sufficiency status based on the maximum import limit indicator set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Speaking at a press briefing at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Thursday, Amran said the claim refers to the FAO’s 1999 standard provision, which categorises a country as self-sufficient if its import fulfilment is below the maximum threshold of 10 percent. The minister explained that there are 12 main food commodities that must be strictly maintained by ministries and related agencies to safeguard national stability. Of these 12 strategic food commodities, Indonesia has reportedly achieved self-sufficiency status and is even exporting eight of them. Currently, only three commodities still require foreign supply to meet national needs: garlic, beef, and soybeans. The total shortfall of these three commodities that have not yet reached self-sufficiency, if accumulated, amounts to only around 3.5 million tonnes. On the other hand, the total volume of food that the domestic agricultural sector can now produce has reached 73 million tonnes. “The need is 68 million tonnes, our production is 73 million tonnes. That means if we divide 3.5 million tonnes by 73 million tonnes, it is 4-5 percent,” Amran explained. With the import dependency ratio only ranging between 4 and 5 percent, Indonesia has in aggregate surpassed the international standard for food self-sufficiency.