VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Professor of the Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Edi Santosa is optimistic that the Food Estate program will be able to support Indonesia to become a global food barn as the Ministry of Agriculture aspires to.  He said, the Indonesian government is trying to make Indonesia a world food storage barn by 2045.

Quoting the Antara News Agency report, Edi Santosa in his statement said, this is very likely to be realized, but Indonesia must have sincerity and seriousness to make it come true. According to Edi, Food Estate will maintain food security. Therefore, this program is expected to have high competitiveness.He also remarked that food estates must be built with competitiveness so that later, it will support Indonesia's ideals as the world's food barn.

The Indonesian government has established food estate areas in two provinces, namely Central Kalimantan, exactly in Pulang Pisau and regencies of Kapuas, and Humbang Hasundutan, North Sumatra and East Nusa Tenggara Regencies. In addition, the government also plans to expand the food estate program to South Sumatra Province, and Papua.

Meanwhile, Head of the National Mainstay Farmers and Fishermen Contact (KTNA), Yadi Sofyan Noor stated that the development of the Food Estate in Central Kalimantan could make Indonesia one of the strongest countries in the world.

According to Yadi Sofyan Noor, the program developed by the Ministry of Agriculture has shown maximal yield progress. Based on the data he has collected, the average land shrinkage in Indonesia reaches 150,000 hectares per year. While the data for paddy field is fewer than 100,000 hectares, exact ly 60,000 per year. However, with the existence of a food estate, rice field printing grows more quickly and more optimally.

President Joko Widodo said that the development of the Food Estate is the government's effort to realize national food security, as an anticipatory step in facing a food crisis.

The concept of developing a food estate is carried out in an integrated manner, including agriculture, plantations, and even livestock in an area.