Minister: Food self-sufficiency solidifies as rice production hits 25.28 million tonnes

Indonesia is not only strengthening its national food security but is also beginning to be recognised globally as a food powerhouse, according to Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman. The minister stated that food self-sufficiency is becoming increasingly robust, with rice production projected to reach 25.28 million tonnes for the January to August 2026 period, based on data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS). “Alhamdulillah, national food production continues to show a positive trend. President Prabowo’s directive is very clear: to strengthen national food production so that Indonesia becomes more self-reliant and farmers become more prosperous,” the minister said in Jakarta on Thursday. BPS projects that rice production for public consumption during January to August 2026 will increase compared to the same period the previous year. The minister stated that this achievement results from various strategic government policies to strengthen the agricultural sector, including accelerating planting schedules, improving irrigation, reducing subsidised fertiliser prices, optimising land use, agricultural mechanisation, and implementing a government purchase price for unhusked rice that favours farmers. He emphasised that the sustained upward production trend aligns with a projection from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which estimates Indonesia’s total rice production in 2026 will reach approximately 38 million tonnes. This projection positions Indonesia as one of the countries with the highest rice production growth globally, indicating that the government’s policies are on the right track. “Indonesia is now not only capable of strengthening national food security but is also beginning to be taken into account globally as a food power,” the minister said. He stressed that priority government programmes will continue to be reinforced to maintain the momentum of increasing national food production, including the construction and rehabilitation of irrigation networks, expansion of planting areas, optimisation of swamp land, development of agricultural mechanisation, use of superior seeds, and strengthening of downstream agricultural processing. “We must not stop. Production must continue to be increased, farmers’ production costs must be reduced, and farmers’ welfare must continue to rise,” the minister asserted. Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics at BPS, Ateng Hartono, said the increase in rice production is in line with the expansion of harvest area and paddy production. BPS recorded that rice production for public consumption in May 2026 reached 2.84 million tonnes. Meanwhile, the potential rice production for June to August 2026 is estimated at 8.42 million tonnes, an increase of 0.10 million tonnes or 1.17 percent compared to the same period the previous year. The increase in rice production is supported by a rise in paddy production. BPS estimates paddy production in May 2026 reached 4.92 million tonnes of dry unhusked grain. The potential paddy production for June to August 2026 is estimated at 14.61 million tonnes of dry unhusked grain, an increase of 0.17 million tonnes or 1.18 percent compared to the same period last year. “Thus, paddy production throughout January to August 2026 is estimated to reach 43.89 million tonnes of dry unhusked grain, an increase of 0.03 million tonnes or approximately 0.06 percent compared to the January-August 2025 period,” he said. The production increase aligns with the expansion of paddy harvest area. In May 2026, the harvest area was recorded at 0.98 million hectares. Meanwhile, the potential harvest area for June to August 2026 is estimated to reach 2.88 million hectares, an increase of 0.04 million hectares or 1.38 percent compared to the same period the previous year. “Cumulatively, the paddy harvest area from January to August 2026 is estimated to reach 8.35 million hectares, an increase of 0.04 million hectares or 0.43 percent compared to the same period in 2025,” Ateng said.