On August 28, 2024, an unusual sight was seen in the rice fields of Bentuk Jaya 15 Dadahup Village, Kapuas Regency, Central Kalimantan. On the dirt road, dozens of tractors were lined up neatly, some small with white handles, others large and being ridden. The red tractors looked like they were ready to welcome a big guest.
Not far from there, several young farmers are descending into the flooded rice fields, including a female farmer in a black and red shirt and a straw hat, who is planting rice seedlings.
A few moments later, a convoy of cars headed towards the tractor location. One of them transported the Minister of Agriculture, Andi Amran Sulaiman, accompanied by central and regional officials to inspect the demonstration rice fields managed with modern technology by millennial farmers.
“Don’t think of farmers like in the old days, in the old days it was mechanization by oxen, meaning oxen did the work, now mechanization is done by tools,” said Amran.
“Later, I will donate this tool to you, your income will be at least Rp10 million per month,” he explained.
Prabowo’s Promise
On the first day of his inauguration as the 8th president of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto has already launched a major mission, which is to maintain food security.
“I have declared that Indonesia must achieve food self-sufficiency as soon as possible, we must not depend on food sources from abroad,” he said on Sunday, August 20, 2024.
Not wanting to delay, Prabowo Subianto, along with the experts assisting him, is optimistic about achieving food self-sufficiency within the next 4-5 years.
“We are ready to become the world’s food barn,” he said.
A similar statement was echoed by Prabowo Subianto when he led the First Session of the Red and White Cabinet on October 23, 2024. In front of the ministers he had just appointed, the President reminded them about the target of self-sufficiency in food.
“We must ensure our ability to feed our own people,” he said.
This great task is not impossible to achieve. Efforts to restore national food security have been undertaken by previous presidents.
Accelerating more in the last 10 years. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has slightly slowed down the challenge of realizing this major program.
The milestone began when the government conceived the idea of developing food estates in several regions. Its development was accompanied by the construction of several dams and irrigation systems in various areas.
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