Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto held a Plenary Cabinet Meeting at the State Palace. On this occasion, President Prabowo presented the government’s achievements and gave directions to ministers and agency heads regarding priority programs to be continued in 2026.
One of the strategic achievements highlighted was national food security, which is a crucial part of the broader national sovereignty agenda.
“I am confident that within four to five years at the latest, we will achieve food self-sufficiency. In fact, we are ready to become the world’s food barn,” asserted President Prabowo Subianto during his speech in Jakarta.
This commitment is reinforced through Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 2 of 2025, which emphasizes the importance of accelerating the development, enhancement, and maintenance of irrigation networks, both by the central and regional governments.
President Prabowo also stressed that food security cannot be separated from comprehensive resource management.
“The fundamental pillars of any nation’s economy are food, energy, and water. If we can manage these three well, we will become a strong nation,” he said.
As an initial implementation step, the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) has provided irrigation services covering 280,880 hectares of farmland through the Land Optimization (Oplah) program. This program successfully increased planting intensity, enabling farmers to plant two to three times a year, especially in the second and third planting seasons which were previously limited by water availability.
Besides relying on surface irrigation networks, the government is also pushing for the development of Groundwater Irrigation Networks (JIAT) using pump technology. This program targets irrigation service coverage of 225,775 hectares with a budget allocation of IDR 6.10 trillion. The JIAT infrastructure includes the construction of 754 units, rehabilitation of 76 wells, and the construction of three water reservoirs for conservation.
A tangible example of the impact of JIAT can be seen in Rejomulyo Village, Jati Agung Subdistrict, South Lampung, where irrigation service coverage increased from 20 hectares to 25 hectares. Farmers who previously depended only on rainwater can now harvest up to three times a year.
According to the Deputy for Infrastructure and Regional Development Coordination, Rachmat Kaimuddin, the success of this infrastructure development is a real manifestation of national priorities in the food sector.
“Water, seeds, fertilizer, and farmers’ hard work are the important combination we support with reliable infrastructure,” he said.
Another program being implemented is the Acceleration of Increasing Irrigation Water Use Efficiency (P3-TGAI) using a cash-for-work approach. This program not only improves irrigation but also directly creates jobs for farmers. As of October 2025, the program is running in 8,000 locations with a physical progress of 54.98%, employing 98,919 workers. Phase II will be expanded to 1,597 additional locations.
With a measured strategy, cross-ministerial collaboration, and full support from the head of state, Indonesia is affirming its serious steps toward food self-sufficiency and becoming the world’s food barn.
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