Food Heroes Should Not Be Left to Struggle Alone

This increase was supported by a rise in harvested rice area to around 11.32 million hectares. Meanwhile, rice production reached 60.21 million tons of milled dry grain (GKG).

The progress of production in 2026 should also be closely watched. According to BPS data reported in October 2026, rice production from January to August 2026 reached 43.89 million tons of GKG, remaining relatively stable with a 0.07 percent increase compared to the same period the previous year.

This figure indicates that the challenges of maintaining production momentum will require serious attention, especially regarding climate change and weather uncertainties.

The National Food Agency also projects that most of the strategic staple food needs in 2026 can be met by domestic production.

Among the ten monitoring strategic food commodities, only three still require imports.

Rice, corn, shallots, chilies, chicken meat, chicken eggs, and sugar are predicted not to require imports for consumption needs based on this food balance.

Such achievements are certainly important assets to strengthen food sovereignty.

However, we need to understand that food security cannot be reduced merely to the capacity to produce large quantities of rice or to maintain stocks in government warehouses.

Food security encompasses much broader dimensions, including availability, affordability, utilization, and stability.

Sufficient food availability does not guarantee access for the entire population if their purchasing power is low.

Similarly, increasing production does not necessarily yield welfare benefits if prices at the farm level plummet during harvest seasons.

Moreover, production surpluses do not automatically create food independence if the distribution, storage, and processing systems are not efficient.

This is where it becomes critical to position farmers as the primary subjects in food development, rather than merely as objects of production policy.

The state must not only come to the fore when production increases are needed but must also be present when farmers face difficulties selling their harvests, experience crop failures, or require protection against price volatility.

So far, the achievements in agricultural development are often measured by production indicators, harvested area, productivity, and food stocks. These indicators are indeed essential, but they need to be supplemented with measures of farmers' welfare.

Because the ultimate goal of agricultural development is not merely to generate as much food as possible, but to create a production ecosystem providing a decent life for those working within it.

First, the government needs to strengthen price guarantees and income protection for farmers.

Government purchase price policies (HPP), harvest absorption, and supply stabilization must effectively protect farmers when producer prices come under pressure.

The roles of Bulog and other food institutions should be enhanced so that they are not merely focused on reserve management but also serve as instruments to protect farmers' economies.

These policies must be accompanied by improvements in marketing structures.

As long as distribution chains remain too long and farmers' bargaining positions are weak, increases in consumer food prices may not provide commensurate benefits to producers.

Therefore, strengthening farmers' cooperatives, rural economic institutions, and fair partnerships between farmers and processing industries urgently needs to be implemented.

Second, the issue of land limitations must receive more serious attention.

The figure of 17.25 million smallholders indicates that many farmers face structural constraints in scaling up their enterprises.

Land consolidation through cooperative institutions, collective farming, and integrated farming areas can be alternatives without eliminating individual land ownership rights.

Third, agricultural modernization must be accelerated. Mechanization, digitization, use of superior seeds, modern irrigation systems, and adoption of precision agriculture should be expanded.

However, modernization must not be enjoyed solely by large-capital farmers.

Small farmers should have equal access through affordable financing, collective provision of agricultural machinery, mentorship, and training.

Fourth, agricultural downstreaming should become a primary agenda. Historically, most farmers have sold their products as raw materials with limited added value.

Meanwhile, processing agricultural products into processed food items, ready-to-eat products, and various derivative products can open new sources of income.

The development of processing industries in rural areas will also create job opportunities and boost local economies.

Thus, farmers can transition from mere suppliers of raw materials to becoming part of the food industry players.

This is the transformation that needs to be encouraged: from a primary production-based agricultural economy to a food economy that generates added value domestically.

One opportunity that should be leveraged is the Free Nutritious Meals (MBG) program.

This program should not merely be viewed as an intervention for fulfilling community nutrition, especially for children, but can also serve as an instrument to reinforce the national food economic ecosystem.

With a large coverage of beneficiaries, the MBG program has the potential to create relatively stable demand for various food commodities.

Needs for rice, eggs, chicken, fish, vegetables, fruits, and other local foodstuffs can form a promising market for farmers, breeders, fishermen, and food SMEs.

However, this opportunity does not automatically provide economic benefits to producer communities.

There is a need for policy design ensuring connectivity between the needs of nutritious food providers and local food production.

Food procurement should provide ample space for cooperatives, farmer groups, BUMDes, SMEs, and local food entrepreneurs.

We must ensure that programs designed to enhance community welfare do not create new supply chains that only benefit large distributors.

Local farmers and fishermen must be crucial participants in these supply chains.