Indonesia Agriculture Minister addresses egg procurement and El Nino readiness

Indonesian Minister of Agriculture and Head of the National Food Agency, Andi Amran Sulaiman, has addressed two major agricultural issues regarding food security and regional management.

Addressing the dismissal of the Surabaya Regional Coordinator for the Nutrition Fulfillment Service Office (KPPG), Amran clarified that the decision was not based on gender discrimination. Instead, the dismissal followed findings that local Nutrition Fulfillment Service Units (SPPG) failed to purchase eggs from local farmers at government-mandated prices during the Free Nutritious Meal program. This failure contributed to falling egg prices and prompted protests from poultry farmers.

On the topic of climate resilience, Amran stated that Indonesia is prepared for the 2026 El Nino phenomenon. The government has bolstered its government rice reserves (CBP) to 5.2 million tons, a significant increase from 1.52 million tons in September 2023. To protect farmers from extreme weather and price volatility, the government is accelerating the absorption of domestic grain through Bulog using an ‘any quality’ policy. Additionally, corn reserves have been increased to 159,000 tons to ensure national food stability.