Local flagship commodities strengthen food security: Minister

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Transmigration Minister Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara stated that developing superior commodities tailored to regional potential can strengthen national food self-sufficiency while improving farmers' welfare.

"The President's directive is very clear, which is to achieve food self-sufficiency. Rice certainly remains the main commodity, but Indonesia also possesses many other food commodities to strengthen national food security," Suryanagara noted in a statement received here on Tuesday.

The minister made the statement while inspecting the Edo Farm banana demonstration plot in Sentul, Bogor District, West Java, as an example of developing a high-value banana commodity.

According to him, efforts to achieve food self-sufficiency are determined not only by increasing production but also by the ability to create value-added agricultural commodities so that the economic benefits can be felt by farmers.

"Food security must go hand in hand with farmers' welfare. If the farmers are not prosperous, food security will not be sustainable," he remarked.

He assessed that bananas are among the commodities with promising prospects, while the cultivation potential is spread across various regions of Indonesia, including transmigration areas.

Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) showed that national banana production in 2025 reached approximately 9.82 million tons, an increase of about 6.02 percent compared to the 2024 production of around 9.26 million tons.

Bananas have become the fruit commodity with the largest production volume in Indonesia.

This vast production potential needs to be followed by a business ecosystem to provide greater added value for farmers and the community, Suryanagara said.

Therefore, the sector must be supported by strengthening farmers' institutional capacity through cooperatives, post-harvest processing, storage, logistics, and guaranteed market certainty through partnerships with off-takers.

"We want farmers not only to be capable of producing high-quality products but also to have market certainty. When the market opens up, prices improve, investments move, farmers' incomes increase, and public welfare is elevated," he stated.

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Translator: Aria, Kenzu

Editor: Arie Novarina

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