President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, has set a target for the country to achieve food self-sufficiency within three to four years by expanding harvestable land to four million hectares by the end of his term.
Responding to this ambitious goal, Professor Subejo, UGM professor of agricultural extension and communication, explained that achieving food self-sufficiency is no easy feat.
It requires appropriate policies to support the program, especially given the many challenges facing the agricultural sector, which is the backbone of food security.
“The target is certainly not easy, given the current challenges,” Professor Subejo said on Tuesday (Oct. 29).
According to Professor Subejo, the first challenge is the massive conversion of agricultural land into non-agricultural land. Amid climate change, land conversion poses a serious threat to efforts to increase rice production, the staple food for Indonesians.
This situation is ironic, considering the increasing demand for new rice fields as the population grows and the demand for rice rises.
Professor Subejo emphasized that to achieve food self-sufficiency, the government must have integrated policies and programs involving various institutions and ministries at both central and regional levels, including extensification, intensification, and diversification.
“Extensification or opening new farmland can be done on a limited scale to ensure manageability, focusing on areas with high suitability to support agricultural commodity development,” Professor Subejo explained.
Another urgent action needed is intensification in primary food production areas, where wetland intensification is below 200 percent, meaning the land is cultivated less than twice a year.
With proper irrigation systems, Professor Subejo believes there is significant potential to increase planting intensity to two or even three times a year in areas with sufficient water availability.
The second issue relates to post-harvest challenges, where prices plummet during peak harvest seasons. Uneven logistics distribution systems across Indonesia cause this recurring problem.
Professor Subejo suggests the urgent need to develop a food production and distribution information system, including for horticulture, involving multiple stakeholders to accurately track the amount and distribution of agricultural products.
“With an information system, the distribution of products can be more even, ensuring price stability,” he said.
In addition, Professor Subejo recommended promoting processing industries to preserve raw products when there is a surplus and ensure they retain economic value.
Equally important, solutions must be found for farmers’ lack of financial literacy. Farming requires significant capital.
Although the government has a People’s Business Credit (KUR) program, it has not been effective among farmers due to their conventional mindset, perceiving it as cumbersome and less beneficial.
According to the Vice Dean for Research, Community Service, and Collaboration at the UGM Faculty of Agriculture, financial integration is crucial, with incentives such as low-interest credit from state-owned banks, corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds, regional government financing, or village funds.
“The government must provide financial literacy education to farmers through farmer groups or farmer leaders and bring financial services closer to villages,” he stated.
Furthermore, the limited understanding of technology among farmers has made farming processes less efficient, resulting in suboptimal production.
For example, the cost of rice production in Indonesia is IDR 5,500/kg, almost double that in Vietnam, where it is only IDR 2,900/kg. Professor Subejo pointed out that Indonesia’s agricultural production system is part of a high-cost economy.
Strategic steps are needed to increase agricultural production efficiency, such as scaling up operations, consolidating farmland, mechanizing agriculture, providing agricultural extension services, and educating farmers to use resources more efficiently.
“We can also introduce more efficient innovations, such as water-saving and fertilizer-saving crop cultivation,” he explained.
Another issue that needs to be addressed is the management crisis farmers face. Most Indonesian farmers rely on their land for survival, often using the proceeds from the harvest to meet daily needs without proper planning for the next planting season.
This management issue has made it difficult to improve the quality and quantity of agricultural production significantly. Professor Subejo believes that farmers do not maintain farm records, leading to inconsistent farm management and difficulty anticipating production risks.
Strengthening farmer institutions is essential to enhance farmers’ efficiency and competitiveness. He added that product diversification should be considered to ensure that the output includes raw materials and processed or secondary products.
“It would be even better if combined with services, such as agrotourism, as a tertiary product, which could increase farmers’ income in the future,” he emphasized.
Regarding the government’s regular rice import policies to meet domestic food needs, Professor Subejo believes that these policies are not a long-term solution. The government only seeks technical solutions without addressing the root causes of the food crisis.
Author: Triya Andriyani
Post-editor: Afif