"We believe, we are optimistic, this year, we will not import rice anymore," he said at the CNBC Indonesia Economic Outlook 2025 event in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He explained that irrigation development is one of the things the government is focusing on in efforts to build national food self-sufficiency.
If the government succeeds in building irrigation facilities for 2 million hectares of land, then the harvest frequency could increase from one to two per year.
If the average productivity reaches 5 tons per hectare, he said, then an additional harvest on 2 million hectares of land would generate 10 million tons of paddy.
Thus, total national rice production this year could reach 33 million to 34 million tons. Meanwhile, the average national rice needs are pegged at 31 million tons per year.
Earlier, President Prabowo Subianto reiterated the government's commitment to stopping imports of rice, corn, and salt by the end of 2025 to achieve food sufficiency.
At a Cabinet meeting in Jakarta in late January 2025, the President underscored that national food self-sufficiency, which was initially targeted to be achieved in four years, could be realized sooner.
The Red and White Cabinet has been given the target of realizing food self-sufficiency in four years. However, Prabowo said he is optimistic that the target can be achieved by the end of 2025 or in 2026.
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Translator: Imamatul Silfia, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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