He delivered the remarks during a coordination meeting on the downstreaming of priority farm commodities on Monday.
He explained that the solution does not lie solely in manufacturing but also in the industrialization of agriculture and farming, which can increase the value of food products.
Citing New Zealand as an example, Karnavian underlined how the country has improved the welfare of its people through agriculture despite lacking major manufacturing industries such as automobiles, electronics, or other high-tech sectors.
He noted that the country also has abundant natural resources such as gold, copper, and coal, which serve as strategic reserves.
"The population is 5 million. When I was studying there in 1998, there were 3 million people. The sheep, 70 million. Dozens of millions of cows. Dozens of millions of deers," he said.
Karnavian described agricultural industrialization as the processing of agricultural and farming products into high-quality finished goods, citing South Korea's success in developing ginseng into premium health products for export.
He pointed out that Indonesia has a much greater variety of plants, spices, and farm products compared to many countries, offering a huge opportunity for downstreaming. This potential, he said, can be maximized with professional marketing and packaging design.
According to him, industrializing agriculture would strengthen food resilience, create jobs, increase export revenues, and encourage inclusive economic growth.
He also referred to President Prabowo Subianto's emphasis on food self-sufficiency as a national priority, backed by Rp371 trillion (around US$24 billion) in funding.
Regional heads should not just focus on raw products, but also contribute to the food processing industry so Indonesia can compete in the global market, he stressed.
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Translator: Muhammad Harianto, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Anton Santoso
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