Strengthening Food Security Synergy Amid Global Dynamics and Climate Change
The Ministry of Agriculture, together with Commission IV of the DPR RI, continues to strengthen synergy in safeguarding national food security amid global dynamics, energy crises, and the impacts of climate change. These efforts aim to ensure the availability of food remains safe, stable, and sustainable for all Indonesian society.
Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that Indonesia has successfully demonstrated positive performance in the food sector by achieving self-sufficiency in a relatively short time.
“Through the directives of the President, support from Commission IV, and the hard work of all farmers, Indonesia has successfully achieved food self-sufficiency in one year. Rice production increased by 4.07 million tonnes according to BPS data or 13.29%,” said Amran at the Working Meeting of Commission IV of the DPR RI in Senayan on Tuesday (7/4).
He added that the National Rice Reserve (CBN) as of the morning of 7 April 2026 was recorded at 4.6 million tonnes, the highest in history. With this achievement, the national rice stock is ensured to be safe to meet needs for the next 10-11 months, despite potential disruptions to the global supply chain due to conflicts in the Middle East and predictions of El Niño in the next six months.
In addition to rice, the availability of other strategic foods such as shallots, garlic, chillies, beef/buffalo/chicken meat, chicken eggs, and granulated sugar is also sufficient.
The Ministry of Agriculture, continued Amran, has issued instructions for strategic steps to address the impacts of climate change, particularly the potential for drought during this year’s dry season.
These steps include mapping drought-prone areas based on an early warning system, optimising water management through the rehabilitation of irrigation networks, the construction of reservoirs, and the utilisation of pump irrigation and piping.
In addition, accelerated planting, the use of drought-resistant varieties, adjustment of planting patterns, and strengthening coordination between local governments and stakeholders are also key focuses.
On the production side, the Ministry of Agriculture continues to promote priority programmes to support sustainable food self-sufficiency, including land clearing for paddy fields and land optimisation, water and irrigation management, land conservation and rehabilitation, the construction of farm roads, the provision of superior seeds, agricultural tools and machines (alsintan), subsidised fertiliser, and strengthening extension services and farmer regeneration.
To support the implementation of these initiatives, the government has prepared Agricultural Tools and Machines (alsintan) on a massive scale. For the 2024-2025 period, for example, 171,000 units of alsintan have been distributed, with a target of an additional 37,000 units in 2026. Meanwhile, the distribution of water infrastructure reached 94,000 units in the same period, with a target of an additional 21,000 units in 2026.
In anticipation of rising food prices as an implication of rising fuel prices due to the global energy crisis, President Prabowo has instructed the optimisation of the use of vegetable fuel (biofuel) sourced from palm oil, sugarcane, cassava, and maize.
“The Ministry of Agriculture has prepared an implementation plan for B-50. Insha Allah, this year Indonesia will not import 5.3 million tonnes of diesel. In the future, the government will also implement the construction of ethanol factories with raw materials from cassava, sugarcane, and maize,” he explained.
On the same occasion, Chair of Commission IV of the DPR RI, Titiek Soeharto, emphasised that food security is no longer merely a matter of production but has become a strategic issue highly influenced by global geopolitical dynamics and increasingly extreme climate change.
“We are faced with real threats from climate change that have disrupted planting patterns, increased the risk of crop failure, and reduced agricultural and fisheries productivity. The prediction of El Niño in 2026 is a serious alarm for us all, given previous experiences showing significant impacts on the decline in national food production, especially paddy,” said Titiek.
She also emphasised the importance of land intensification as the main strategy for increasing national food production. “We also convey to the Minister that regarding food, it is important to carry out agricultural land intensification. How the existing land can harvest twice, those that once can harvest twice, then those that twice can become three,” she stressed.
“What needs to be noted is regarding water, water pumps to face this long dry season need to be increased, then irrigation channels repaired so that our agricultural yields can increase,” she continued.
In line with the Minister of Agriculture, Titiek assessed that strengthening food security must be carried out in an integrated manner from upstream to downstream with an approach that is no longer business as usual.
“We all agree that food security is the foundation of national sovereignty. If food is disrupted, national stability will also be threatened,” said Titiek.