APINDOSU DEPUTY CHAIRMAN: USLI SARSI SUPPORTS THE INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT'S COMMITMENT TO FOOD AND ENERGY SELF-SUFFICIENCY
28 October 2024
In his first speech after taking the oath as President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Nusantara Building of the MPR/DPR/DPD, Jakarta, on Sunday (20/10/2024), President Prabowo Subianto stated his commitment for Indonesia to move towards food self-sufficiency as the main step to face increasingly complex global challenges.
“I really appreciate the steps that President Prabowo Subianto will take. This is the right step considering that the threat of food and energy crisis is increasingly real. Some countries are starting to experience food shortages. If this is not immediately anticipated, it can pose a serious threat to the country,” said the Deputy Chairperson of the North Sumatra Indonesian Entrepreneurs Association (APINDOSU) in charge of Agriculture and Plantations, Usli Sarsi via cellular telephone, Monday (28/10).
Usli said that Indonesia had succeeded in achieving food self-sufficiency during the era of President Suharto's administration in 1984. If the Red and White Cabinet works seriously, President Probowo Subianti commitment can definitely be realized.
“I am very optimistic that Indonesia can achieve food self-sufficiency again,” said Usli.
Usli said, as the fourth country with the largest population after India, China and the United States, food availability is an absolute thing to provide. Do not rely on other countries to provide food by importing food, this is very destabilizing for the country. When the world experiences a food crisis, no country will allow their food to be bought.
“I am optimistic that President Prabowo Subianto target of food self-sufficiency can be achieved within 4-5 years. In fact, it is not impossible for Indonesia to become the world's food barn,” he said.
Usli believes that Indonesia is able to achieve food self-sufficiency because Indonesia has a very large area that can be used as agricultural land. Moreover, Indonesia's geographical location is very suitable for agriculture and plantations because it has fertile land, sufficient rainfall and sunlight. Therefore, Indonesia is called an agricultural country.
The most important thing is how the fertility of agricultural land can be maintained, so that crop yields are maximized. The trick is that agricultural land and plantations use more compost than chemical fertilizers.
“The long-term use of chemical fertilizers can make the soil dry, reducing soil fertility. Conversely, the use of compost fertilizers can maintain soil fertility,” Usli explained.
Energy
In addition to food self-sufficiency Usli said, President Prabowo Subianto also emphasized that Indonesia must also be self-sufficient in energy. In a state of tension, in a state of possible war everywhere, Indonesia must be prepared for the worst.
Do not depend on petroleum energy because one day it will disappear. Indonesia was once a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as a petroleum exporting country. But Indonesia decided to leave OPEC because it is no longer a petroleum exporting country but a petroleum importer.
“Many countries that have been petroleum exporters will turn into petroleum importers because petroleum supplies are decreasing and unable to meet domestic needs,” he said.
In the future, energy demand around the world will continue to increase. To meet these needs, using renewable energy. Various countries are starting to look for renewable energy by utilizing geothermal, sunlight, wind and so on.
Indonesia, as a tropical country, is very fortunate in creating renewable energy. It can utilize geothermal heat, sunlight, wind and so on. However, Usli said that renewable energy derived from geothermal, sunlight, wind is still limited and unable to meet the increasing energy needs.
“To achieve energy self-sufficiency, the most possible thing to do is to increase agricultural and plantation products that can be processed into energy,” he explained.
Palm oil products can be processed into Biodiesel energy which has now entered B30 and will continue to be developed to B100. Likewise with bioethanol energy derived from rice, corn, sweet potatoes and other food crops.