Vice President Discusses Food Security with Lemhannas RI’s P3N Batch 27 and P4N Batch 69 Participants

Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka briefed P3N Batch 27 and P4N Batch 69 participants at the Vice Presidential Palace on Wednesday (6/3). On the occasion, the Vice President emphasized that strengthening food security and digital transformation were two important pillars in addressing increasingly complex global challenges.

In the area of food security, the Vice President stressed the need to improve food self-sufficiency from upstream to downstream, starting from fertilizer management, irrigation, seedling systems and agricultural mechanisms. He said food self-sufficiency was a strategic national agenda that must consistently be pursued. “I entrust this to all of you as prospective national leaders. There must be sensitivity, sensitivity to what is happening at the grassroots level,” the Vice President said.

Furthermore, the Vice President also highlighted the importance of food diversification to reduce dependence on a single commodity. This is in line with various local food sources that have the potential to become leading commodities in the global market.

Local food sources such as porang, breadfruit, moringa leaves and seaweed are superfoods with high economic value and are in demand in international markets. The Vice President said there was currently a shift toward a healthy lifestyle, providing significant opportunities for Indonesia.

Regarding the potential of the blue economy, the Vice President said Indonesia had an advantage in seaweed production, which is among the largest in the world. However, the development of downstream industries still needs to be strengthened to generate greater added value for the public.

On the occasion, the Vice President highlighted the many challenges facing the Indonesian economy. Amid these economic challenges, digitalization is key to making the bureaucratic system more efficient, as well as addressing illegal levies and thuggery. The Vice President said that to advance digitalization in the economy, the government had introduced various platforms, such as OSS, e-catalog and GovTech, which must continue to be strengthened to create faster, more transparent and accountable governance.

“Digitalization is an important instrument for streamlining convoluted bureaucracy, preventing illegal levies, increasing transparency and reducing the potential for corruption. Therefore, the use of technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), must continue to be encouraged,” the Vice President said.

Concluding his presentation, the Vice President hopes that participants of Lemhannas RI’s educational programs, as prospective national leaders, would become more active and able to collaborate across sectors to advance Indonesia. The Vice President urged the participants not only to remain sensitive to current conditions but also to establish good communication so that policy implementation could be adjusted to the conditions of society and accepted by the public.

“Once again, I congratulate you. I wish you success in carrying out your duties and contributing to a more advanced Indonesia,” he concluded. (SP/CHP/MDF)