The Value Of The Food Estate Program Initiated By Jokowi Failed, Cak Imin: It's Definitely Not Continued

Cak Imin in Padang, West Sumatra (Photo: DOK ANTARA)

PANDANG - Candidate for Vice President number 1 Muhaimin Iskandar or Cak Imin ensured that the food security program in the form of food estate or food barn money initiated by President Joko Widodo would not be continued if elected. "It is certain that it will not be continued (food estate)," said Cak Imin after the vision and mission review and the idea test of the 2024 Indonesian presidential and vice presidential candidates organized by BEM KM Andalas University, West Sumatra, in Padang, Antara, Monday, December 4. The reason, he said, was that the food security program was proven to fail and was not well planned. On the basis of these two things, the presidential candidate pair and vice presidential candidate number 1 confirmed that they would not proceed if they were elected to the five-year democratic party. The Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives explained a number of indicators of food estate failure. First, the food barn program is no longer producing and actually causes deforestation. "So, the food estate has disrupted our forests," he asserted. On the other hand, Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman assessed that the food estate program or food barns must be continued to support agricultural intensification and extensification strategies.

According to him, if it is managed on a large scale and supported by modern agricultural management, it is believed that the food estate program will be successful. As one of the policies included in the 2020-2024 National Strategic Program, the food estate program aims to develop a number of commodities, namely chili, rice, cassava, corn, peanuts, and potatoes.