REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, YOGYAKARTA -- Indonesia must stop importing food products if it intends to achieve food sovereignty, a member of the Presidential Advisory Board (Wantimpres) said.

"We must stop the trend of importing (food products)," Sidarto Danusubroto, the Wantimpres member, stated at the opening of an anti-corruption mental revolution movement (Permak) of the Agriculture Ministry here on Tuesday.

The food import policy only benefits the food mafia because they get involved in the importation of basic necessities, he pointed out.

"If we stop importing sugar, rice, meat, soybean, and other commodities, the food mafia will die sooner or later. Unless the food mafia is eliminated, how will Indonesia be self-reliant (in food production)?" he questioned.

There is no reason for Indonesia, which has abundant natural resources, to be unable to achieve self-reliance in food production, Danusubroto remarked.

Danusubroto, who is a former chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), further noted that the mafia will protest if their businesses are disrupted because so far, they have made money from the import of food items.

"With the country importing rice, the price of locally-produced rice falls, which harms local farmers severely," he explained.

President Joko Widodo has ordered the Agriculture Ministry to achieve self-reliance in the production of rice, corn and soybean and to also increase the production of red chili, onion, meat and sugar.

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