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View all search resultsGovt prepares 1 million hectares for ethanol feedstock
Ethanol can be produced from sugarcane, cassava or corn. Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said preparing 1 million hectares of agricultural lands to cultivate the commodities was a directive from President Prabowo Subianto.
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Workers plant sugarcane seedlings in Hamparan Perak, Deli Serdang regency, North Sumatra, on Aug. 28, 2025. (Antara/Yudi Manar)
T
he government plans to open 1 million hectares of agricultural land to cultivate raw materials for ethanol production, a move aimed at supporting its drive for a mandatory 10 percent ethanol blend in all gasoline (E10).
Ethanol can be produced from sugarcane, cassava or corn. Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman said preparing the agricultural land to cultivate the commodities follows a directive from President Prabowo Subianto.
The plots would lie in regions across the archipelago, he added, without naming any locations, noting that the details would be worked out in further coordination with Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister head Nusron Wahid, who also heads the National Land Agency (BPN).
“It will be implemented all across Indonesia, [in areas] with suitable agroclimatic conditions,” he said on Tuesday, as quoted by news agency Antara.
President Prabowo has green-lit the mandatory E10 policy as part of efforts to reduce carbon emissions and reliance on fuel imports.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry also plans to collaborate with the automotive industry to assess the compatibility of E10, amid growing public concerns that Indonesia’s tropical climate could amplify ethanol’s corrosive effect on certain automotive materials, such as rubber.
The government aims to make E10 mandatory in the next two to three years, but the rollout remains uncertain, as key ministries have stated conflicting timelines and targets.
