The minister put forth the suggestion at a working meeting with the commission at the Parliamentary Complex in Jakarta on Wednesday.
For 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture received a budget of Rp29.37 trillion (around US$1.84 billion), including an additional budget of Rp21.47 trillion (around US$1.34 billion).
The minister detailed the reprioritization of the Ministry of Agriculture's 2025 budget, which encompassed efforts to support rice self-sufficiency of Rp23.61 trillion (around US$1.48 billion) and to support the nutritious food program of Rp413.67 billion (around US$25.97 million).
Efforts made to support rice food self-sufficiency include land optimization activities covering 851 thousand hectares, rice field development of 225 thousand hectares, and water pumping at 500 thousand hectares of rainfed land.
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The Ministry of Agriculture also supports the nutritious food program through the nutritious food garden activity, with a budget of Rp413.67 billion for implementation in 2,500 villages. Under the program, assistance in the form of seeds, vegetables, fruits, laying hens, and sweet potatoes is provided.
With the reprioritization, the budget ceiling for the ministry programs in 2025 is Rp23.33 trillion (around US$1.46 billion) for quality food availability, access, and consumption, and Rp2.08 trillion (around US$130.6 million) for industries' value-added and competitiveness.
Furthermore, the budget ceiling for vocational education and training programs is set at Rp548.65 billion (around US$34.4 million), while for management support, it is set at Rp3.41 trillion (around US$214 million).
"We hope the leadership of Commission IV can approve the budget reprioritization proposal so that priority programs can be carried out in accordance with the plan in early January 2025 so the self-sufficiency target can be achieved as soon as possible," he remarked.
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Translator: Martha Herlinawati, Raka Adji
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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