Prabowo Claims Indonesia Self-Sufficient in 8 Food Commodities, Promises Meat Next

President Prabowo Subianto has said that by 2026, Indonesia has succeeded in achieving food self-sufficiency for eight commodities: rice, maize, consumption sugar, chicken meat, chicken eggs, shallots, large chillies, and bird’s eye chillies.

Thanks to the hard work of his administration, he said, Indonesia was able to achieve rice self-sufficiency more quickly, from four years down to one year.

He made the remarks in a speech before hundreds of members of the MPR, DPR and DPD at the Annual Session of the MPR and the Joint Session of the DPR and DPD in the context of the 81st Anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia at the Nusantara Building, Senayan Parliament Complex, Central Jakarta, on Friday (14/8/2026). Also in attendance were senior officials of Indonesian state institutions, former Presidents and Vice Presidents of the Republic of Indonesia, and representatives of friendly nations.

According to Prabowo, this was also achieved after an overhaul in the fertiliser sector, including the removal of 145 regulations on fertiliser distribution.

As a result, fertiliser prices were successfully reduced by 20%. Thus, for the first time in Indonesian history, fertiliser prices fell while at the same time the volume of fertiliser available to the people also increased.

“So our people now find it easy to obtain fertiliser, and because of that production has increased, and because of that we achieved food self-sufficiency more quickly,” Prabowo said.

“We, Alhamdulillah, can report to this Assembly that regarding food, regarding food for the Indonesian people, we are in a safe condition. And we will be able to face challenges, including the El Niño challenge which is said to be severe this year, the most powerful El Niño,” he said.

On the other hand, Prabowo acknowledged that there are still issues whose resolution cannot yet begin at this time, including self-sufficiency in meat and garlic.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are still not self-sufficient in meat. We will work on that, and God willing, we can achieve it within the next five to six years,” Prabowo asserted.

In his speech, Prabowo also emphasised that Indonesia is now in a condition of food security, amid a situation in which many countries around the world are deeply worried about mass starvation due to food shortages and unpredictable weather.