Coordinating Minister Zulhas Admits It's Not Easy To Achieve Food Swasembada Targets

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs (Menko Pangan) Zulkifli Hasan admitted that it was not easy to achieve the target of food self-sufficiency. Moreover, the self-sufficiency target was also accelerated to 2027.

The man who is familiarly called Zulhas said the problems needed to be resolved ranging from fertilizers to infrastructure facilities such as dams and irrigation that needed to be repaired.

"To go to self-sufficiency in food is complicated. I don't know what because of that, Mr. President Prabowo made the Coordinating Minister for Food (in his work cabinet). This is what I think we have to finish," he said at Sarasehan 100 Indonesian Economists, in Jakarta, Tuesday, December 3.

Even so, Zulhas believes that this food self-sufficiency target can be achieved because of President Prabowo Subianto's strong commitment.

"I believe this can be overcome. If the president supports anything, it can be resolved. What can't be done if the president is half-hearted. If this is Pak Prabowo, he everywhere conveys self-sufficiency," he explained.

Zulhas also said that after he was inaugurated, several things were done. First, he said, cutting the flow of fertilizer distribution so that it reaches the hands of farmers more quickly.

Furthermore, he said that later the distribution of fertilizers would no longer need a regional government decree (SK). Later distribution channels from the Ministry of Agriculture will assign PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) to distribute fertilizers to farmer groups (gapoktan).

We have only finished one month. It was a complicated fertilizer, so it's finished. I communicated three times, it's finished. We cut it," he said.

Second, continued Zulhas, his party also strengthens the role of regional agricultural instructors. Later, he said, extension workers will be directly responsible to the Ministry of Agriculture no longer to the regional agriculture office.

Zulhas said the takeover of the extension was carried out because later the extension staff would not only serve rice food commodities, but more widely.

"Residents are now taken over by the center, Ministry of Agriculture. The extension is not only rice plants but food in a broad sense," he explained.

Finally, he continued, repairing agricultural irrigation. He said he would prepare regulations so that the central government could work on improving agricultural irrigation in the regions.

According to Zulhas, so far the improvement of regional agricultural irrigation has been handed over to local governments for lengths ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 hectares (ha). However, he assessed that many local governments were less concerned about improving irrigation.

"Farming is really neglected. I just finished this, the center can build irrigation for 1,000 to 3,000 hectares, it's finished. The Presidential Decree is finished, it's neat. Maybe one, two weeks it can be signed," he explained.