Jakarta – Commander of the Bravo National Campaign Team (TKN) Prabowo Gibran, Budisatrio Djiwandono, explained that the country’s self-sufficiency in food will be the top priority if the number 2 pair is elected to lead Indonesia. This is absolutely necessary, because a food crisis is imminent.
“The main sector targeted for self-sufficiency by Prabowo Gibran is food, water, and energy. In that sector, we must no longer rely on imports. Specifically regarding food, Mr. Prabowo has stated that food is a matter of life and death for a nation,” explained Budisatrio to reporters in Jakarta (Sunday, 13/1).
The leader of Commission IV of the Indonesian House of Representatives, which oversees agriculture, food, and maritime affairs, explained that Indonesia is currently experiencing a food deficit due to population growth accompanied by a decrease in land productivity. He cited the crisis that has occurred with rice.
“BPS data shows that every year our population increases by around 3 million people. And this increase in population is not accompanied by an increase in harvested land. Meanwhile, rice is consumed by almost all citizens,” he said.
Budisatrio continued that this deficit 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 wheat, which is heavily dependent on imports, to sharply increase. We must not allow this to happen with rice, which is our main food source,” he said.
To address this issue, Prabowo Gibran targets a minimum of four million hectares of additional arable land in a program called the Food Barn.
“This food barn will exist from the smallest level in the villages by the farmers, up to the national level by continuing the food estate. The method is to increase crop planting indices, intensify and utilize idle land,” Budisatrio said.
“Digital technology for agriculture will also be a priority. We will create new rice fields, as well as 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 itself, Budisatrio urged that the food crisis be made into a healthy discussion because it is related to the country’s future.
“Focusing on food issues should be a shared agreement. We are actually looking forward to a variety of ideas to address the food crisis from each pair of candidates. With Prabowo Gibran, it is clear that we will continue the food estate and improve it into the Food Barn,” Budisatrio concluded. (SENOPATI)
Sumber: https://prabowosubianto.com/krisis-pangan-di-depan-mata-prabowo-gibran-siapkan-swasembada-lewat-program-lumbung-pangan/
