Jokowi: The Number Of Indonesian Reservoirs Is Not Yet 10 Percent Compared To Korea-China

Screenshots - President Joko Widodo during a speech at the opening of the IV/2023 PDIP National Working Meeting at JiExpo Kemayoran, followed from Youtube PDIP Jakarta, Friday (29/9/2023) (ANTARA/Andi Firdaus)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said the number of reservoir infrastructures in order to meet food independence in Indonesia has not yet reached 10 percent of the capabilities of Korean and Chinese countries.

"We still need hard work to resolve the food we have," said President Jokowi during a speech at the opening of the IV/2023 PDIP National Working Meeting at JiExpo Kemayoran, quoted by ANTARA, Friday, September 29.

In front of PDIP cadres, President Jokowi said that the number of reservoir infrastructures in Indonesia is still very small compared to the capabilities of other countries. The total existing reservoir infrastructure for Indonesia's agricultural land irrigation needs is 230 units.

Currently, the government is building 61 additional reservoirs that President Jokowi projects will complete in 2024.

"We will add more or less 230 later, less than 300 reservoirs," he said.

However, the number of reservoirs owned by Indonesia, said President Jokowi, has not yet reached 10 percent when compared to the ability of Korea and China to build similar infrastructure in their country.

Quoting Bung Karno's statement, said President Jokowi, food is the life of a nation, especially in the midst of the world's food and geopolitical crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.

"We know that our population is 278 million, the world is also more than 8 billion people in the world," said President Jokowi.

According to him, Indonesia's population is predicted to reach 310 million people by 2030, with an average Indonesia population growth of around 1.25 percent per year.

"This means that once again, food is the key, as stated by Bung Karno, food is the life of a nation. That's right," said President Jokowi.

Jokowi advised the government to prepare a tactical vision in the food security sector within the next 5-10 years.

"In the next 5-10 years, we must have a tactical vision, a detailed plan, a detailed plan, so it is clear how much time we have to prepare, how many reservoirs we have to prepare, how many kilometers of irrigation to prepare, and when it must be completed," said President Jokowi.