Food Estate and Prabowo Mission Escape from the Food Import Trap

PADANG - Special Presidential Envoy for Food Security, Muhamad Mardiono, said that the food estate program initiated by President Prabowo Subianto aims to break Indonesia's dependence on food imports from other countries.

This was conveyed by Mardiono on the sidelines of his working visit to Padang City, West Sumatra, Tuesday, February 3.

According to Mardiono, in the first year of his administration, President Prabowo has conducted in-depth analysis to anticipate the risk of food import dependence in the midst of uncertain global situations.

"In the first year of President Prabowo's administration, the President has analyzed early to overcome import dependence," said Mardiono as quoted by Antara.

He assessed that the move was visionary because the President had taken into account the impact of global conflicts on national food security. Inter-state conflicts, he said, have the potential to disrupt the world's food supply and have a direct impact on importing countries, including Indonesia.

For example, Mardiono said that if Indonesia still depends on rice imports from Thailand, then the national rice supply can be disrupted if there is a conflict in the region.

"The President has already thought about this in the Asta Cita and stopped importing rice from Thailand," he said.

Mardiono emphasized that the food security and food self-sufficiency programs launched by President Prabowo were not merely aimed at breaking the import chain, but also concerned the dignity and dignity of the nation and the bias towards domestic farmers.

"Food sovereignty is the dignity and dignity of the people. As a great nation, we must not beg for food from other nations," said Mardiono.

He again reminded that the current global conditions are filled with uncertainty due to various conflicts and wars in a number of countries. This situation, according to him, indirectly impacts the world economy, geopolitical stability, and global food security.