Jakarta – Commander of the Bravo Communication Team of the National Campaign Team (TKN) Prabowo Gibran, Budisatrio Djiwandono explained that the nation’s self-reliance in food will be the top priority if the pair number 2 is elected to lead Indonesia. This is absolutely necessary, because the 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 depend on imports. Especially in terms of 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 Chairman 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 example of the crisis that occurred in rice.
“BPS data shows that our population increases by about 3 million people every year. And this increase in population is not accompanied by an increase in agricultural land. Meanwhile, rice is consumed by almost all citizens,” he said.
Budisatrio continued that the 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 our wheat, which is highly dependent on imports, to increase sharply. We must not let this also happen to rice, which is our main food,” he said.
To address this issue, Prabowo Gibran aims for a minimum increase of four million hectares of agricultural land in a program called Food Barn.
“This Food Barn will exist from the smallest level in the village by farmers, to the national level by continuing the food estate. The way to do this is by increasing the planting index, intensifying and utilizing fallow land,” said Budisatrio.
“Digital technology for agriculture will also be a priority. We will develop new rice fields, while also increasing 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 can be a healthy discussion because it is related to the future of the country.
“Focusing on food issues should be a common agreement. We are actually looking forward to a variety of ideas to address 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 a Food Barn,” Budisatrio concluded. (SENOPATI)
Sumber: https://prabowosubianto.com/krisis-pangan-di-depan-mata-prabowo-gibran-siapkan-swasembada-lewat-program-lumbung-pangan/
