Jakarta. A presidential confidant announced Tuesday that Indonesia would stop clearing forests for rice paddies, citing that the current production was already enough to feed the people.

At a conference, the president’s climate envoy Hashim Djojohadikusumo trumpeted Indonesia’s rice self-sufficiency, which the country had unlocked ahead of its 2029 deadline. Hashim, who is also President Prabowo Subianto’s brother, revealed that the more-than-enough supplies crossed out the need to set up new rice fields in forests for now.

“The government sees no further need to expand rice cultivation in the so-called forest areas,” Hashim told the Indonesia International Sustainability Forum.

According to Hashim’s calculations, the national rice stock had reached 5.3 million tons and counting. The reserves growth already outpaced the state-owned warehouses’ capacity, prompting the government to rent private-owned storage.

He ascribed the burgeoning production to government incentives, including acquisition price hikes and the 20% discounts on subsidized fertilizers. He claimed that the 120 million Indonesian farmers have had “the best standard of living since the 1980s”. 

Hashim found it impressive that Indonesia managed to achieve the goals set by the “food estate program without even planting two million hectares [of crops]”. He was referring to the government-run agricultural expansion in the country’s easternmost region of Papua, a program that aimed to grow national food supplies, but had sparked climate activists’ backlash. 

The politician also highlighted Jakarta’s preference to maximize its agricultural yields rather than clearing new lands. 

“We will not embark on extensification of arable areas, but [pursue] intensification measures using superior seeds.”

The vow to halt forest clearing came amidst a haze-choked Southeast Asia. Severe fires torching Indonesian forests and dried-out peatlands have led to transboundary haze that reached close neighbors Malaysia and Singapore.

Rice self-sufficiency has become a common theme in Prabowo's speech. The government also often boasts how this condition has allowed Indonesia to begin exporting the staple food, including to Malaysia.

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