KARAWANG: President Prabowo Subianto said on Wednesday (Jan 7) that Indonesia’s rice production met all domestic demand, hailing a landmark achievement for food security – one of his key campaign promises.
In a speech to farmers in Karawang, east of the capital Jakarta, Prabowo celebrated an “important victory” in achieving rice self-sufficiency within just over a year since he entered office in October 2024.
“No nation is truly free if food is not available to its people. A nation cannot be independent if its food supply depends on other countries,” he said.
Indonesia last achieved rice self-sufficiency in 2008, and before that in the mid-1980s.
Rice is a staple food in the Southeast Asian nation of 286 million people.
According to the National Food Agency, a government body aimed at advancing food security, Indonesia produced 34.71 million tonnes of rice in 2025, exceeding annual consumption needs of 31.19 million tonnes.
“Today is a happy day for me,” said Prabowo, who at the start of his administration set a four-year target for rice self-sufficiency.
It was achieved years ahead of schedule, with the government citing increased subsidies for farmers and streamlined regulations.
“If many critics sneer and say we can’t achieve food self-sufficiency, today we prove that we are food self-sufficient,” Prabowo said.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-prabowo-subianto-rice-self-sufficiency-food-security-5836311
