Prabowo: I Will Take Responsibility If the Nation Faces Hunger

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - President Prabowo Subianto affirmed that he will take full responsibility if the Indonesian people face hunger due to the failure to achieve national food security. According to him, as the head of state who receives a mandate from the people, he is ready to accept the consequences if the food needs of the people are not met. “The target we set, I set, I as President am responsible, the mandate holder of the people’s sovereignty. I was sworn in, I am responsible. If this nation is hungry, I will take responsibility,” Prabowo said during the inauguration of the operational launch of 1,061 Desa Merah Putih (Red and White Village) Cooperatives in Nganjuk, East Java, Saturday (16/5/2026). “No one else will be blamed, no one else will be asked to be held accountable. I am responsible,” he added. He assessed that this achievement was not an easy task. “We achieved food self-sufficiency, a struggle that was not easy. We are a country of hundreds of millions, 287 million people. Ensuring food for 287 million people is not an easy task. It is not an easy task. We succeeded,” said Prabowo. Prabowo then revealed that he had once targeted food self-sufficiency to be achieved within four years. However, according to him, this target was achieved in just one year by the ranks of the Ministry of Agriculture. “I gave the task to the Minister of Agriculture and all his team, I asked for food self-sufficiency within 4 years. They managed to achieve it in 1 year, ladies and gentlemen,” said Prabowo. Prabowo also admitted that he understands the importance of food security because of his background as a former soldier and military commander. According to him, in military operations, food logistics is a major factor that determines the strength of the troops. “If the troops don’t have rice, if the troops don’t eat, they can’t fight, ladies and gentlemen,” he said. On that occasion, Prabowo also emphasized that food is not just an economic commodity, but a matter of the survival of a nation.