Not Wanting To Experience A Rice Crisis Like Japan, Minister Of Agriculture Amran Ensures RI's Food Security Is Strong

JAKARTA - Japan's Minister of Agriculture, Taku Eto, has officially resigned from his position due to the rice crisis and public dissatisfaction with the government's handling of the surge in rice prices.

Seeing this condition, the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia, Andi Amran Sulaiman, emphasized that food problems are not trivial.

"Problem plantations, countries are problematic. Therefore, the government and all relevant stakeholders must always work together to ensure that our production is good, our stock is strong, and people smile," he said in an official statement, Thursday, May 22.

Various strategic steps have been taken to ensure increased production in Indonesia, ranging from optimizing land to printing rice fields for future foods.

Various regulations and policies are also strengthened to support the agricultural sector. Starting from increasing the volume of subsidized fertilizers, facilitating subsidized fertilizers for farmers, to adjusting the purchase price of the government (HPP) of rice.

In the future, the Ministry of Agriculture will continue to strengthen its strategy to support self-sufficiency in rice and other main commodities while improving the welfare of farmers as the frontline of national food security.

"Our current production is good and our CBP is the largest in history. We are optimistic that the target of 4 million tons of rice reserves will be achieved soon. God willing, Indonesia's food will be stronger and self-sufficiency in rice is no longer just a dream," said Amran.

Rice Crisis In Sakura Country

Japan is currently facing a rice crisis accompanied by an increase in the price of extreme heat waves that damaged the harvest. For only 5 kilograms of packaging, the price reaches 4,268 yen or around Rp 484,000.

In the midst of this situation, Minister Taku Eto joked and uttered sentences of never buying rice. As a result, it sparked public dissatisfaction with the government of Prime Minister (PM) Shigeru Ishiba.

The Kyodo News opinion survey showed that there was a decrease in support for PM Ishiba by only 27.4 percent. Nearly nine out of ten respondents expressed dissatisfied with the government's handling of the surge in rice prices.

Ishiba finally received Eto's resignation letter and apologized openly to the public. As a quick step, PM Ishiba immediately appointed Shinjiro Koizumi to replace Eto.

This phenomenon shows that food is a strategic issue that directly touches people's lives. In the midst of global food challenges, people have high hopes for the government to be present, take a stand and provide concrete solutions.

Meanwhile, Japan is trying to stabilize its food sector, while Indonesia, especially rice commodities, the government claims that its food security is strong.

Currently, government rice reserves (CBP) reached 3.84 million tons, in less than 5 months. Then, based on the USDA Rice Outlook April 2025 report, Indonesia's rice production is projected to reach 34.6 million tons, growing 4.8 percent compared to the previous year period.