Jokowi Indonesia's Promise Will Not Import Rice In Today's Memory, March 6, 2015

President Jokowi held a rice planting ceremony. (Indonesian Cabinet Secretariat)

JAKARTA Memories of today, nine years ago, March 6, 2015, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) promised not to import rice. He said rice imports were an unwise act because the area of rice fields in Indonesia was quite wide.

Previously, the leadership of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) in managing food often received criticism. SBY is considered to often import food. This strategy is used to meet domestic food needs.

Indonesia is a country rich in natural resources. All kinds of food needs can be produced to meet the entire archipelago. However, the facts on the ground are not always the same. Indonesia often implements its main food import policy to meet domestic needs.

If you look further at the deep problem. First, Indonesian food crops are often haunted by crop failure. Second, the area of agricultural land is getting narrower. Third, government policies that actually favor import entrepreneurs, appeal to farmers.

A series of problems were present in the government of President SBY. The owner of power is considered to like to carry out rice import policies. In order to fulfill food availability, he said. The activity received criticism from here and there.

Many criticisms refer to the government, which is actually actively promoting the success of food self-sufficiency. The fanfare slapped the face of the country. This is because, in fact, Indonesia actually imports almost all food products, from rice to soybeans.

This condition took place from the beginning of the SBY administration in 2004-2014. This means that during that time the government was unable to increase national food production. Even the government is considered not serious about advancing national food.

Indonesia is a country whose food depends on imports. Apart from rice, soybean needs must be imported. So we import almost 70 percent. So most food products for us are imported through imports," said Indonesian Civil Society Forum activist for Foreign Policy (ICFP), Khoirun Nikmah as quoted on the Kompas.com page, October 13, 2014.

SBY's import policy drew criticism from his successor, Jokowi. The new President of Indonesia said that the steps to import rice must be removed. He wants Indonesia to be independent. Moreover, the rices'' agricultural land in Indonesia is not playing.

Jokowi assessed that there would be strangeness if Indonesia would continue to import. The Indonesian number one does not want the policy to continue. Jokowi firmly said that he would no longer import rice on March 6, 2015.

Jokowi also advised farmers to continue to be enthusiastic about producing rice. Even though the Jokowi administration was not much different. Indonesia still likes rice imports for national food needs.

We all don't need to import rice anymore. Wong rice rice bom ne ra general (owners of rice fields are not common), why import, opo ora is filled? Isin boten? Lha wong negoro lio rice or omb or ora okah even sent (is it not ashamed? Embarrassed or not? Lha other countries whose rice fields are smaller even send) the rice to Indonesia.

"All residents need food. Therefore, I hope once again, the spirit of being calm, maintaining, and harvesting with the existing harvest machine so that the results of the production can increase," said President Jokowi during a visit to Jetis Village, Ponorogo, East Java as quoted by the Cabinet Secretariat website, March 6, 2015.