JAKARTA – The government continues to accelerate its efforts towards national food self-sufficiency. One of President Prabowo Subianto’s stated targets is to end Indonesia’s dependence on garlic imports within the next three to four years.
This commitment was emphasized by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture (Wamentan), Sudaryono, who stated that garlic self-sufficiency was a direct instruction from President Prabowo as part of strengthening national food security.
“Currently, more than 90 percent of our garlic is imported. The President’s goal is to achieve self-sufficiency in this essential staple,” Sudaryono said at a press conference at the Ministry of Agriculture office in Jakarta.
To support this target, the government has prepared a budget of nearly IDR 400 billion, which will be used for a garlic nursery program covering 5,000 hectares by 2026. This program is the first step in building independence in national garlic production, which has so far been dependent on foreign supplies.
According to Sudaryono, compared to other food commodities, the garlic self-sufficiency target is relatively more realistic to achieve. The government estimates that the land requirement to meet national consumption is around 100,000 hectares.
“The challenge is how to provide sufficient seedlings. So, these three locations are geared more towards mass seeding,” he said.
The Ministry of Agriculture has designated a number of highland areas as national garlic development centers, namely Sembalun in West Nusa Tenggara, Temanggung in Central Java, and Humbang Hasundutan in North Sumatra.
Sudaryono explained that the main issue currently isn’t land availability or farmers’ interest in growing garlic. The biggest challenge lies in providing large quantities of seeds suited to Indonesia’s climate.
“We need at least three to four years to achieve self-sufficiency because the challenge is how to provide sufficient seedlings in these locations,” he said.
The government has also implemented a seedling breeding scheme through farmers. Under this program, farmers will receive government-provided seedling assistance to develop into new varieties.
“The government provides bridging seeds. So, farmers are given seeds, then after harvest, they return one and a half times the seeds, and the rest can be sold,” explained Sudaryono.
He added that the cost of cultivating garlic is quite high. For one hectare of land, production costs reach approximately IDR 120 million, with the largest component coming from the need for seeds, which reaches around IDR 75 million per hectare. Therefore, the government is stepping in through state budget support to accelerate national seed development.
In addition to the state budget supporting 5,000 hectares of nurseries, the government is also inviting state-owned enterprises and the private sector to participate in developing nurseries covering up to 20,000 hectares.
“Starting this year, the state budget will allocate 5,000 hectares. State-owned enterprises and the private sector are expected to allocate 20,000 hectares, as we aim for 100,000 hectares,” said Sudaryono.
Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman expressed similar optimism. He stated that the government is currently accelerating self-sufficiency in several strategic commodities that still rely on imports.
“The three that haven’t been purchased yet are garlic, meat, and soybeans,” said Amran at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.
Amran emphasized that the majority of national food commodities have now achieved self-sufficiency, with some even entering the export market. Therefore, the government is optimistic that the garlic self-sufficiency target can be achieved in the next few years.
“We hope that in three to four years, consumption, which has been met by imports, will gradually decrease. Hopefully, it will be zero, and we can achieve self-sufficiency,” said Sudaryono.
With these various strategic steps, President Prabowo’s target of stopping garlic imports is believed to be an important milestone in strengthening national food sovereignty, while simultaneously improving the welfare of farmers and reducing Indonesia’s dependence on food supplies from abroad.
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