Jakarta. Professor Subejo of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) argues that Indonesia should prioritize maximizing the potential of its 7.4 million hectares of existing rice fields rather than pursuing the risky food estate policy to achieve national food sovereignty.

"Rather than gambling on opening new and highly risky lands, I believe the best approach in the medium term is to optimize our existing fertile lands, which amount to 7.4 million hectares across Indonesia," Subejo told Beritasatu.com via an online interview on Monday.

He expressed skepticism about the food estate policy, questioning its effectiveness as a solution for maintaining food security. Subejo highlighted the risk of substantial investments in food estates failing if the targeted land areas do not meet expectations, as was the case in Central Kalimantan.

Subejo also pointed out the challenges associated with large-scale land management, noting that larger land areas are more difficult to monitor. Therefore, the suitability and scale of land are crucial factors in the food estate policy.

"I think it is feasible and strategically important but must be carefully aligned with land suitability and scale," he added.

However, Subejo emphasized that the potential of existing rice fields has not yet been fully realized. He suggested that if all rice fields could be harvested twice a year, there would be no need for new food estates, given that these lands are already proven to be productive.

"I imagine if we could harvest from all our rice fields twice as much, we wouldn’t need to open food estates. These lands are already proven to be productive," Subejo asserted.

He urged the government to focus on enhancing water infrastructure, irrigation, and effective agricultural management to optimize the 7.4 million hectares of fertile land across Indonesia. With such measures, Indonesia could achieve national food self-sufficiency.

"If done seriously, with good irrigation, it might even be possible to achieve triple harvests," he concluded.

In 2010, ex-President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) brought back a food security program called Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE) in Papua. The goal was to open 1.2 million hectares of farmland, but the MIFEE project faced delays and only succeeded in cultivating 100 hectares.