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Jokowi admits cutting reliance on rice imports difficult task
Jokowi had pledged to stop food imports and make Indonesia self-sufficient in rice and other staple foods such as sugar, corn and soybeans, since he took office in 2014.
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This handout photo taken and released on March 21, 2023 by the Presidential Palace shows President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo wearing a traditional Papuan headwear during the inauguration of the creative hub for Papuan youths in Jayapura in Papua province. (AFP/Handout/Presidential Palace)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has acknowledged that cutting the country’s reliance on rice imports has proven to be difficult task, as he defended his government’s continued procurement from overseas, despite promises years ago to stop doing so in order to become self-sufficient.
Jokowi argued Indonesia was not able to meet its rice-production target for many years, as each year the country saw its population grow at a steady rate of 4 million to 4.5 million new-born babies annually.
“What we hoped for is that we would no longer need to import rice, but in reality, it’s very difficult,” Jokowi said on Tuesday when visiting Central Java, as reported in Kompas.
He added that currently Indonesia’s population is close to 280 million and they all need to be fed.
Last year, the government tasked the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) with importing 3.5 million tonnes of rice before directing the agency to procure another 2 million tonnes in 2024.
The government claimed the move was necessary to replenish its diminishing reserves and to brace for a poor harvest due to the impact of El Niño.
Jokowi had pledged to stop food imports and make Indonesia self-sufficient in rice and other staple foods such as sugar, corn and soybeans, since he took office in 2014.
