TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Jokowi seeking investors for food estates
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is seeking private-sector investors for the development of food estates.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (right, in foreground) speaks to Keerom Regent Piter Gusbager (left, in foreground) on July 6, 2023, after harvesting corn at a food estate in Wambes village in Keerom’s Mannem district. (Antara/Sakti Karuru)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is seeking private-sector investors for the development of food estates as the government pushes ahead with a controversial program.
“We’re still looking for investors; what we are pushing for now is investment, not state budget [funding],” Jokowi said on Thursday as quoted by Kontan.
The President previously said that the food estate program would involve collaboration among various ministries and has admitted there have been challenges with the program in several regions.
Many presidential administrations in Indonesia have looked to state-run estates to increase agricultural productivity and buttress national food security, but the attempts have largely failed.
Jokowi said Thursday that the government would rely on evaluation and adaptation to achieve optimal results and noted that it would take time to assess the success of crops yields.
"Usually, the first harvest fails; the second harvest could achieve a 25-percent success rate. Usually, by the sixth or seventh planting, that's when we achieve a normal harvest, so it's not as simple as we thought," Jokowi said.
Meanwhile, National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) undersecretary for maritime affairs and natural resources Vivi Yulaswati said that the 2020-2024 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) outlined central food production areas including food estates in Central Kalimantan, North Sumatra and East Nusa Tenggara.
