Indonesia’s drive for food self‑sufficiency overlooks climate vulnerability, land‑use pressures and farmer marginalisation, says President Prabowo
Original framing: “Indonesia’s Prabowo defends record, touts food self-sufficiency in Independence Day speech” — South China Morning Post
Climate models project a 15‑30% increase in extreme rainfall events for Java and Sumatra by 2030, threatening rice yields and storage infrastructure. Scientific assessments also warn that expanding monocultures reduces ecosystem services, undermining the very self‑sufficiency the policy seeks to guarantee.
Indonesia’s self‑sufficiency narrative rests on a legacy of top‑down agrarian policies that have repeatedly sidelined indigenous stewardship, climate science, and marginalised farmer voices, reproducing vulnerabilities seen across post‑colonial states.
By weaving indigenous agro‑ecological knowledge, climate‑smart diversification, and participatory governance into a dynamic modelling framework, the country can transform a rhetoric of security into a resilient, equitable food system. Historical precedents from the New Order era and comparative cases in Africa and Latin America illustrate that without such systemic integration, self‑sufficiency becomes a fragile façade vulnerable to extreme weather and market shocks. Actors ranging from the Ministry of Agriculture to local cooperatives, research institutes, and indigenous councils must coordinate to re‑anchor food policy in ecological reality and social justice.