Indonesia targets 1M hectares of new rice fields

- Advertisement -

JAKARTA- Indonesia plans to open between 750,000 hectares and 1 million hectares (2.47 million acres) of new rice fields in 2025, part of new President Prabowo Subianto’s drive for food self-reliance, its agriculture minister said on Tuesday.

Prabowo took office on Sunday, starting his five-year term with a fiery speech reiterating a focus on achieving food and energy self-sufficiency.

Indonesia is a major importer of food commodities like wheat and sugar. In the past two years, its rice imports have jumped, reaching over 3 million metric tons each year, as domestic output was hit by unusually dry weather.

- Advertisement -

On top of new rice fields, the government plans to intensify production from existing rice fields through programs such as the distribution of water pumps, said Andi Amran Sulaiman, former President Joko Widodo’s agriculture minister who retains his job in Prabowo’s cabinet.

“(Self-sufficiency target) is not easy. We need to coordinate so that, going forward, regulations are simplified and we can move quickly,” Amran told reporters after a meeting with the state enterprise minister and state food companies.

It was not clear how effective the efforts would be to raise next year’s rice output, or how soon the new rice fields would start producing.

Author

- Advertisement -

Share post: