Since taking the helm of Indonesia, President Prabowo has been committed to achieving food and energy self-sufficiency. In fact, he proclaimed: Indonesia must become self-sufficient in food in the shortest possible time. It must not depend on external food sources.

Currently, some of the country's food needs are still imported. So, before self-sufficiency occurs, Indonesia needs to maintain food security. That is, the fulfillment of food for households in Indonesia, both in quantity and quality, safe, equitable, at affordable prices.

This commitment was reiterated when the government recently released the 2026 Draft State Budget. For this reason, according to a number of agricultural experts on Tuesday (26/8), the government needs to develop strategies and plans to realize sustainable national food security amid various global economic challenges - such as climate change, natural disasters, pandemics, or economic crises.

In the Draft State Budget, the Indonesian government allocated a food security budget of IDR 164.4 trillion in 2026. The funds are allocated for three main focuses, namely, the production, consumption, and distribution sides of food reserves.

Agricultural observer from the Indonesian Political Economy Association Khudori said that national food security will be realized if the government prioritizes the welfare of farmers.

"Farmers are the heart of the agricultural sector itself. Food security can be achieved if the farmers are prosperous," Khudori told SUAR in Jakarta (26/8).

"Farmers are the heart of the agricultural sector itself. Food security can be achieved if the farmers are prosperous," said Khudori.

Currently, he said, the government has made various efforts that are expected to support this. One of them is by setting an increase in the government purchase price (HPP). Now, the HPP for grain is IDR 6,500 per kilogram (kg) as of January 15, 2025. The increase in HPP is considered to be able to save farmers from middlemen.

According to Khudori, farmers will prosper if their production is well absorbed and do not import. "Prioritize domestic production first, don't import a little," he told SUAR in Jakarta (26/8).

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded that national rice production during January-June 2025 reached 21.76 million tons, up 2.83 million tons or 14.49% compared to the same period the previous year. 

Indeed, rice imports in Indonesia in 2024 reached 4.52 million tons. This figure has increased compared to previous years, and most of it comes from Thailand and Vietnam. 

However, in the January-March 2025 period, rice imports decreased dramatically by 92.26% compared to the same period the previous year.

Khudori said that the policies issued by the government must also be pro-farmer. For example, the provision of subsidized fertilizers, adequate agricultural tools and machinery.

Despite being an agricultural country, most farming in Indonesia is small-scale and subsistence. More than 15 million Indonesian farmers cultivate land smaller than 0.5 hectares, according to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics.

The same thing was conveyed by Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) agricultural observer Dwi Andreas. He said that a country's food security will be well realized if it includes five aspects. Namely, farmer welfare, land optimization, adequate climate, increased productivity, and involving the private sector.

• The first aspect is improving farmers' welfare. The government has made efforts to improve farmers' living standards. This can be seen from the National Food Agency (Bapanas), which has raised the government purchase price (HPP) for agricultural commodities such as grain and corn.
• The second aspect is land optimization. The government can implement a modern cultivation technique program or utilize vacant land that can be managed. In fact, there is still a lot of vacant land in Indonesia.
• The third aspect is climate issues. This is still the toughest challenge because the weather is unpredictable. The solution to this climate problem is to increase the construction of reservoirs in several regions.
• The fourth aspect is to increase agricultural productivity. The government should conduct the latest research and development and can learn from other countries for crop development techniques.
• The fifth aspect is that the government needs to involve the private sector because they know the conditions on the ground, so don't blame and be suspicious of the private sector.

"If these five aspects can be met, national food security can slowly be realized," Dwi told SUAR.

Pro-farmer policies

Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman emphasized that the government continues to implement pro-farmer policies, ranging from grain price adjustments, access to subsidized fertilizers, to agricultural equipment and machinery assistance in order to strengthen national food security.

"We are serious about not importing rice. This policy is a tangible manifestation of the government's alignment with the welfare of Indonesian farmers," Amran said in a press release received by SUAR (19/8).

He said that agricultural policies and assistance will continue to be implemented as a form of the government's partiality towards the food sector and farmers in the country. Currently, Amran claims that the price of rice in the country has not increased.

Based on data from the Bapanas Price Panel on Sunday (24/8) at 13:29 WIB, the price of Stabilitas Supply and Food Prices (SPHP) rice at the national consumer level was at IDR 12,583 per kg or 0.66% higher than the highest retail price (HET) of IDR 12,500 per kg.

Meanwhile, the price of medium rice was recorded at IDR 14,294 per kg, 14.35 percent higher than the price ceiling of IDR 12,500 per kg. Premium rice nationally was recorded at IDR 16,089 per kg or 7.98 percent higher than the price ceiling of IDR 14,900 per kg.

Chairman of the Association of Rice Millers and Rice Entrepreneurs (Perpadi) Sutarto Alimoeso said, the government must really ensure that pro-farmer policies run perfectly, there must be monitoring in the field.

"There must be a team that evaluates, not to be left without supervision. For example, when there is assistance for agricultural tools and machinery to farmers, send a team to supervise, so that the tools are not neglected and not used," he said.

The Ministry of Agriculture has projected a surplus of 4.86 million tons of national rice production by September 2025 from the target of 32 million tons by 2025. Meanwhile, Bulog's rice stock currently stands at 4.2 million tons. The government's target is to achieve food self-sufficiency this year.