JAKARTA, thekabarnews.com Indonesia produced 34.69 million tonnes of rice in 2025. This marks a sharp annual increase as the government expanded agricultural modernization. The government strengthened its national food reserves.

Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported that rice output rose by 4.07 million tonnes (13.29%) from 2024. The harvested area reached 11.32 million hectares, producing 60.21 million tonnes of dry milled unhusked rice before conversion.

The government has presented the increase as progress toward rice self-sufficiency. It has promoted farm machinery, improved production inputs and other technology-based measures to raise productivity.

However, production growth alone does not determine food security. Food security also depends on distribution, prices and the reliability of future harvests.

President Prabowo Subianto has placed food self-reliance at the center of his administration’s agricultural agenda.

“Indonesia must be self-reliant and able to support itself. Food self-sufficiency is a principal element of that goal,” Prabowo said during an annual cabinet briefing in Hambalang, West Java, on Jan. 6.

“No nation can be independent if it cannot guarantee food for its people.”

The Agriculture Ministry estimated in September that Indonesia had access to 26.91 million tonnes of rice. This is equivalent to approximately 310 days of national consumption. The calculation assumed a monthly demand of about 2.60 million tonnes.

Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said the projection combined supplies from several locations and stages of production.

“The estimate covers rice held at various points, from government reserves to stocks held by the public and potential output from crops that are still growing,” Amran said.

The figure therefore does not represent 26.91 million tonnes of rice already stored in warehouses. It comprised 4.61 million tonnes held by the state logistics agency Bulog.

In addition, households and businesses held an estimated 12.86 million tonnes. The government also projected that crops harvested between September and December 2026 would produce 9.44 million tonnes of rice.

If the projected harvest materializes, the ministry expects those supplies to cover national demand until June 2027.

Government rice reserves managed by Bulog stood at 4,605,301 tonnes on Sept. 18. The stock provides authorities with room to distribute food assistance. It also allows them to intervene through the Food Supply and Price Stabilization program when market supplies tighten.

The September figure remained historically high, although the reported peak reached 5.37 million tonnes on May 19, 2026. The government had since distributed part of that earlier stock through food assistance and price-stabilization programs.

Indonesia’s larger harvest and substantial reserve buffer have improved its short-term supply position. However, maintaining that progress will depend on protecting future crops, managing stocks efficiently and ensuring that adequate national supply translates into affordable rice for consumers.