President Prabowo Subianto held a limited meeting (ratas) with several ministers from the Merah Putih Cabinet at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday, November 26, 2024. The meeting discussed various strategic issues in the food sector, including fertilizer distribution, commodity balance, and the institutional transformation of Perum Bulog (National Logistics Agency).
In a press statement after the meeting, Minister of Food Coordination, Zulkifli Hasan (Zulhas), revealed that important decisions were made during the session. One of the decisions was related to improving the fertilizer distribution chain, which has been considered overly long and complex.
“The fertilizer distribution, which has been long and convoluted, has been agreed upon. In the future, the Presidential Regulation will determine that the Ministry of Agriculture will directly deal with Pupuk Indonesia, which will then go directly to Gapoktan (farmer groups), retailers, or distributors, thus shortening the distribution chain significantly,” he said.
Minister Zulkifli also shared the projection for food production in 2025, which is expected to reach 32 million tons, which is anticipated to reduce the need for imports.
“Next year, hopefully, we will not import as much as in 2024, and if we do import, it will be minimal. Hopefully, with the hard work of the Minister of Agriculture, by God’s grace, there may be no imports at all next year. But even if there are imports, it will be very little,” said Zulhas.
According to him, rice stocks by the end of December 2024 will be the highest in the past five years, with Bulog securing nearly two million tons of rice and stocks in the community reaching more than six million tons.
Regarding Bulog, the Minister of Food Coordination revealed that the government would begin discussing the transformation of the Bulog institution.
“Food self-sufficiency will heavily depend on Bulog. It buys rice, corn, and other commodities. If Bulog is able to purchase these efficiently, it will be smooth,” he explained.
With the institutional transformation, it is hoped that Bulog will be able to operate more efficiently in fulfilling its important role in national food security.
Minister Zulhas also mentioned that the government would continue to focus on improving the quality of agricultural extension workers and irrigation infrastructure.
“Because each region has its own agricultural extension workers, we will discuss how to ensure that they operate under one command,” he added.
Additionally, the government will discuss solutions to improve irrigation in regions where it remains inadequate, so that water distribution can be more evenly spread to support agriculture.
Through these various measures, the government demonstrates its commitment to strengthening national food security, reducing dependence on imports, and improving the welfare of farmers across Indonesia. (ECH/ABD)
