The government has committed to taking measures to encourage corn production, which have included securing the supply for domestic needs through intensification and extensification programs.
"Based on USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) data for 2022, Indonesia's corn production is 34.4 million tons, and we can be proud that in the past three years, there has been no need to import corn for animal feed," Hartarto said in a statement issued in Jakarta on Thursday.
The next step taken by the government is promoting efficiency at all levels of the corn supply chain, starting from the harvest process, post-harvest handling, storage, to transportation and distribution through the application of appropriate agricultural innovations and technologies.
In addition, Hartarto said the government has made efforts to diversify food to strengthen the basis of food security by increasing the production of other commodities, such as soybeans, cassava, sorghum, and so on.
Furthermore, the government is encouraging the use of superior seeds from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to increase the productivity of food commodities, especially rice and corn, so that they can be produced in a fairly short time.
Given the high potential for downstreaming in the corn processing industry for the production of processed foods such as corn starch, corn vermicelli, corn grits, corn flour, sweeteners, and snacks, he said he hopes that the corn processing industry will expand in a number of areas.
Then, adjustments can also be made according to the specifications of corn raw materials for domestic production and industrial needs as well as increasing aflatoxin levels in domestic corn production.
"We should also be grateful because the needs of the food and beverage industry for the supply of raw materials and auxiliary materials are more secure with the implementation of the Commodity Balance policy," the minister said.
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Translator: Agatha O, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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