Jakarta. Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has been tasked by President Prabowo Subianto to implement programs that will enable Indonesia to achieve food self-sufficiency within four years. However, he confidently shortened the timeline to three years.

Amran, who has continued in his role since the previous administration, said on Wednesday that he has concrete strategies to boost agricultural productivity and meet the target faster than the president's initial projection.

“Indonesia is naturally an agricultural country, with the advantage of being situated at the equator, allowing us to grow crops year-round,” Amran said in an exclusive interview with B-Universe Media Holdings at his Jakarta office.

This geographical advantage, he argued, should make it easier for the country to achieve self-sufficiency in food.

The first priority is to meet the basic needs of Indonesian farmers, such as access to affordable fertilizers. According to Amran, the government plans to double the budget for fertilizer subsidies in the near future.

In densely populated regions like Java, where agricultural land is limited, the main strategy is to increase the number of harvests per year without depending on seasonal rainfall.

The government has distributed tens of thousands of water pumps to channel water from major rivers to paddy fields, enabling farmers to harvest at least twice a year.

Outside Java, there is potential to develop 10 million hectares of new paddy fields in provinces such as Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Sumatra, Lampung, Aceh, and Jambi.

The approach to boosting productivity in these regions will differ significantly from the strategy used in Java.

“Harvests currently occur just once a year despite abundant water resources, so we need better water management in those areas. We also aim to modernize rural agriculture,” Amran said.

He estimated that mechanization in the agriculture sector could double output while cutting costs by 50 percent.

Some of these strategies do not require additional funding.

“What we're doing is refocusing the existing budget by cutting unnecessary expenses like seminars, ribbon-cutting ceremonies, and work trips,” Amran explained.

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