IPB Professor Assures Government Rice Data is Valid, President's Sidak Proves Bulog Warehouse is Full
JAKARTA - IPB University Professor Hermanto Siregar emphasized that the national rice stock reported by the government can be trusted and has been verified directly in the field.
The statement refers to a sudden inspection (sidak) carried out by President Prabowo Subianto to the Perum Bulog warehouse in Magelang on Saturday (18/4). During the visit, President Prabowo found the warehouse conditions full of rice with a capacity of 7 thousand tons.
"So the data provided by the government, both the Ministry of Agriculture and Bulog, is true," said Hermanto in a written statement, Tuesday, April 21.
In addition, he also stated that the raid confirmed the food reserve data that had been announced by the government and denied doubts about the National Food Self-sufficiency.
"If the inspection is a sudden review, it is not made up. The results of the President's inspection show that the warehouse is indeed full. So the President's visit to the Bulog warehouse is a term of verification," he said.
According to him, it is very risky for the government to manipulate food data because the impact will be felt directly by the community. Therefore, he believes that the rice stock figures presented reflect the actual conditions in the field.
Hermanto explained that the rice reserve figure of 4.8 million tons was not an unexpected figure, but rather a calculated result. The stock comes from the accumulation of previous reserves, minus distribution, plus the harvest results that have taken place since the beginning of 2026.
"Until April, the harvest is still going on. This means that rice stocks will continue to increase, especially entering the peak harvest of April-May, and will increase again in the next harvest season in August-September," he explained.
Prof. Hermanto also explained the mechanism for managing stocks by Bulog. During the harvest season, Bulog absorbs grain or rice from farmers to strengthen reserves. Conversely, when supply in the market decreases, Bulog conducts market operations by distributing stocks so that prices remain stable and community needs are met.
With a stock condition of 4.8 million tons, Hermanto assessed that Indonesia's chances of not importing rice this year are quite large. However, he reminded that this still depends on climatic factors.
"If the climate is not extreme, for example, there is no severe El Nino, then our chances of not importing are very open. Moreover, there is still a harvest in August that can add reserves," he said.
Prof. Hermanto assessed that the President's raid was an important step to strengthen public confidence in national food data, as well as answering doubts regarding the achievement of food self-sufficiency.
"With this raid, the President directly verifies the conditions on the ground. This is important to refute public doubts about the availability of rice and food self-sufficiency efforts," he concluded.