Indonesia Receives Self-Sufficiency in Rice Award from IRRI; What is its Production?

Indonesia received an award from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for its robust food security system and successful achievement of rice self-sufficiency during 2019-2021.

The award, titled "Acknowledgment for Achieving Agri-food System Resiliency and Rice Self-Sufficiency during 2019-2021 through the Application of Rice Innovation Technology," was presented by IRRI Director General Jean Balie to Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at the State Palace on Sunday, August 14, 2022.

“I would like to express my deepest gratitude, especially to the real actors working in the rice fields, the Indonesian farmers, for their hard work, of course, the regents, the governors, the Ministry of Agriculture, all of whom collaborated with research from universities and higher education institutions that we have. This is integrated work, work together, gotong royong work, not just the ministry's alone,” said President Jokowi after receiving the award, as reported on the Setkab website.

The President revealed that since 2015, the government has been actively developing infrastructure in the agricultural sector, such as dams, reservoirs, and irrigation networks. Improvements in agricultural infrastructure, coupled with the utilization of superior rice varieties and intensification and extensification programs, spurred increased rice production, enabling Indonesia to achieve rice self-sufficiency.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), national rice production from 2019-2021 was approximately 31 million tons. Indonesia's rice stock as of April 2022 reached 10.2 million tons.