Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto: Blank And Disadvantaged Lands Can Be Utilized For Food Security

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto visited an integrated food development area in Mande District, Cianjur, West Java, Sunday (2/10/2022). (Antara/Ahmad Fikri)

JAKARTA - Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, said abandoned vacant land in West Java, including in Cianjur, could be used for agriculture so that food security was maintained and strong, as was done in Mande-Cianjur District.

World agriculture is being shaken by the world's food crisis due to the Russian-Ukraine war, as a result, the largest supply of wheat sources in the two countries has also been disrupted, which has triggered world food prices to increase, including in Indonesia, which has experienced a fairly high food price increase.

"West Java is the area with the best rainfall in the world so that various food crops can be developed which have a high selling value. Not only for needs in West Java, if necessary, they can supply the needs of other regions," he said in Cianjur, Sunday, October 2, 2022.

Currently, the central government is implementing an integrated agricultural program involving all elements to prevent food crises due to the pandemic, such as land management for food farming in Mande District, which is a pilot project for the Ministry of Defense, Kodam, Korem, Kodim and Cianjur Regency Government.

"That's why we have to use the existing land to prevent the food crisis. There should be no land that is not used, we use everything so that the food reserves are sufficient," said Prabowo Subianto as quoted by Antara.

Prabowo Subianto explained that the management of integrated land in Cianjur covering an area of 100 hectares was planted with corn and cassava to prevent the food crisis. In fact, his party plans to create the same project in several sub-districts in Cianjur, such as Cibeber, Campaka, Sukanagara, Cibinong, and Kadupandak.

"We ask the local government to record vacant land that can be used for integrated agricultural programs in Cianjur, so that the development of land from the program can be wider," he said.

The Regent of Cianjur, Herman Suherman, welcomed the plan - the central government will increase the area of land to be developed in an integrated food program, so that the needs of various food products can be available, including to meet needs at the local level and are expected to supply for other cities/districts.

"We will soon provide the land that the minister has asked for so that national food security continues to increase and the food crisis can be suppressed. We have also implemented a program for the chili planting movement in vacant land or in bags or pots as an effort to suppress inflation that is currently engulfing the world," he said.