Twelve Years Without Renovation, Prabowo Wants Sugarcane Farms to Be Finished in Two Years

President Prabowo Subianto (Photo: Cahyo - Presidential Press, Media, and Information Bureau)

MALANG - President Prabowo Subianto has asked for the national sugarcane plantation rejuvenation program, which was originally targeted to be completed in four years, to be accelerated to two years.

Prabowo said Indonesia had not rejuvenated the sugar cane crop for 12 years. He learned of this condition from a report by Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman.

"The Minister of Agriculture conveyed to me that there has been no rejuvenation of sugar cane for 12 years. Twelve years," said Prabowo at the Simultaneous Raya Harvest with the TNI in Malang, East Java, Friday, July 17, 2026.

The government's initial program targets the rejuvenation of 100,000 hectares of sugarcane land per year. At this rate, the entire program is expected to be completed in four years.

However, after being asked again by Prabowo, the Minister of Agriculture stated that the work could be completed in two years.

"With his courage and bravery, he said, 'Sir, we can do it in two years,'" said Prabowo.

Prabowo accepted the acceleration, but reminded the ministry's ranks not to ignore health conditions due to workload.

"Good, but don't go to the hospital, Mentan. So two years, but you don't go to the hospital. The country and the nation still need you," he said.

Prabowo previously said that a number of high-ranking officials, ministers, and heads of agencies had to undergo treatment in hospitals because they were working hard to pursue government targets.

In the same event, TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto reported that the Air Force assisted 236,048 hectares of sugarcane land in the 2026 harvest season.

The land is estimated to produce 18.386 million tons of sugar cane or equivalent to 1.36 million tons of sugar. This amount has the potential to contribute 45.05 percent to the national sugar target for 2026.

At the Abdulrachman Saleh Air Force Base, the sugar cane land ready to be harvested reached 800.5 hectares with an estimated yield of 72,045 tons.

Prabowo also linked the rejuvenation of sugar cane with the development of ethanol. The government plans to build at least 30 ethanol plants to support the use of E10 to E20 blended gasoline.