Prabowo: In 19 Months in Office We Have Achieved Self-Sufficiency in Rice and Corn

Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto has asserted that Indonesia has achieved food self-sufficiency, including shrimp production in Kebumen, Central Java, amid global uncertainty and geopolitical conflicts affecting many parts of the world today. This achievement stems from the government’s strategic steps over the past 19 months to strengthen the independence of the food sector to guarantee the stability of the people’s basic needs. ‘Praise be to God, we can say 18 months since I lead the government from October 2024, 1 year 7 months. So 19 months. Praise be to God, many things we have achieved. We are now self-sufficient in food, rice, corn, and our protein,’ President Prabowo said, quoted from the Presidential Secretariat’s YouTube broadcast in Jakarta on Saturday. The President, who attended the shrimp harvest at Kebumen’s Region-Based Shrimp Cultivation Area (BUBK), detailed that the current self-sufficiency includes key commodities such as rice, corn, and chicken egg protein. Meanwhile, for the meat commodity, the government is currently pushing production faster with a target of full self-sufficiency expected to be realised within four to five years. In the midst of a global environment laden with geopolitical tensions, the President emphasised that Indonesia must have a robust defence capability. This is seen as crucial to safeguarding the nation’s natural wealth from interference by foreign parties or other actors seeking to control domestic resources. ‘We are grateful to the Almighty that we are still not involved, but we must remain vigilant. We must have strength. That is why we are building our defence capabilities to guard our wealth. And now our wealth we manage ourselves,’ the President asserted. In addition to food security and defence, the President highlighted the importance of closing leakage gaps in state wealth that have long hindered the welfare of the broad people. The President is fully committed to ensuring that such wealth is managed transparently and enjoyed directly by all Indonesians, not just a handful of people. ‘I reiterate that Indonesia is truly very rich, but too much of our wealth leaks away, and these leaks must be stopped. And I am determined to work as hard as I can, and with the effort of all my aides. We will do whatever is necessary to stop the leakage of the people’s wealth,’ the President said.