Food Self-sufficiency Starts from the Village, This is Prabowo's Strategy

President Prabowo Subianto has set a target for food self-sufficiency. (IST)

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto has set a big target in the food sector. He wants self-sufficiency not only to occur at the national level, but to start from the village to the province.

After attending the XVII National Farmers and Fishermen Summit (PENAS) in Gorontalo Regency, Wednesday, June 24, Prabowo said the government would expand the application of agricultural technology that has proven to be able to significantly increase crop yields.

The new cultivation technology and techniques, said Prabowo, will be socialized to various regions so that they can be applied more widely.

"I think so. We want this to be socialized, taught to all areas," said Prabowo.

The government, he continued, is preparing a strategy so that each region has the ability to meet its own food needs.

Prabowo said the target started at the village level, then the sub-district, district, and province.

"We want every village to be self-sufficient, every sub-district to be self-sufficient, every district to be self-sufficient, every province to be self-sufficient," he said.

According to Prabowo, areas that are able to produce surplus production will be encouraged to supply the needs of other areas even for export.

The strategy is part of efforts to strengthen national food security amid increasing global challenges, ranging from climate change to uncertainty in global food supply.

Prabowo assessed that Indonesia has a great opportunity to achieve this target because it is supported by a large land area, good soil conditions, and the potential for the development of irrigation systems that are still open.

With the more even spread of agricultural technology, the government hopes that the increase in productivity that has been seen in a number of regions can be replicated nationally and become the foundation for a stronger food self-sufficiency.