Jakarta – Commander of the Bravo National Campaign Team Communication Team (TKN) Prabowo Gibran, Budisatrio Djiwandono explained that the nation’s self-sufficiency in food will be the top priority if the pair of number 2 is elected to lead Indonesia. This is absolutely necessary because a food crisis is imminent.
“The main sectors targeted for self-sufficiency by Prabowo Gibran are food, water, and energy. In these sectors, we must not rely on imports anymore. Specifically regarding food, Mr. Prabowo has stated that food is a matter of life and death for a nation,” said Budisatrio to reporters in Jakarta (Sunday, 13/1).
The leader of the Indonesian House of Representatives Commission IV, which oversees agriculture, food, and maritime affairs, explained that Indonesia is currently facing a food deficit due to population growth accompanied by a decrease in land productivity. He gave the example of the crisis that occurred with rice.
“BPS data shows that our population increases by around 3 million people every year. And the increase in population is not accompanied by an increase in arable land. Meanwhile, rice is consumed by almost all citizens,” he explained.
This deficit, according to Budisatrio, cannot be covered by relying on imports from abroad.
“Learning from the incident with wheat during the Ukraine-Russia war, the supply chain was disrupted, causing the price of our wheat, which is very dependent on imports, to rise sharply. We must not allow this to happen with rice, which is our main food source,” he said.
To address this, Prabowo Gibran is targeting a minimum increase of four million hectares of arable land in a program called Lumbung Pangan.
“This food barn will exist from the smallest level of villages by farmers, to the national level by continuing the food estate. The method is by increasing crop indices, intensification, and utilization of unused land,” said Budisatrio.
“Digital technology for agriculture will also be a priority. We will create new rice fields and increase the productivity of existing land with digital and modern tools and technology. There is no other choice, this must be done,” he continued.
In the context of the presidential election, Budisatrio urged that the food crisis be made a healthy discussion because it is related to the future of the country.
“The focus on food issues should be a common agreement. We are actually looking forward to a variety of ideas to face the food crisis from each pair of candidates. From Prabowo Gibran, it is clear that we will continue the food estate and improve it into Lumbung Pangan,” concluded Budisatrio. (SENOPATI)
Source: https://prabowosubianto.com/krisis-pangan-di-depan-mata-prabowo-gibran-siapkan-swasembada-lewat-program-lumbung-pangan/