Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia has stepped up measures to mitigate El Nino risks, drawing on previous experience as the government seeks to protect rice supplies and national food security, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said Tuesday.“Our preparations did not start this year but have been underway since President Prabowo Subianto’s administration began,” Sulaiman said at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta.The measures followed a severe El Nino that drove Indonesia’s rice imports to seven million tons during 2023–2024, he said.The government has distributed 100,000 water pumps, repaired 900,000 hectares of irrigation networks with the Public Works Ministry and prepared drought-resistant rice seeds.It is also optimizing about 800,000 hectares of swampland expected to remain productive during the dry season as water levels recede.The government has opened more than 200,000 hectares of new rice fields and built reservoirs, shallow wells and deep wells to secure water for agriculture.Sulaiman said the preparations gave the government confidence it could maintain food security despite the El Nino threat.“Our stocks currently remain at 5.2 million tons. So, God willing, we are safe,” he said.Besides government rice reserves, the current standing crop is estimated at 10 million to 11 million tons, while Bulog warehouses hold about five million tons, Sulaiman said.“We have experience from three terms in office. Even when we were less prepared, we maintained stability, especially now,” he said.Sulaiman acknowledged that El Nino’s effects were emerging in some drought-prone areas but said the impact remained localized and would not affect national food supplies.He said crop-failure risks from prolonged drought remained in some areas but were limited and would not disrupt national stocks or drive staple-food prices higher.“There may be small fluctuations, but they will not affect national stocks,” he said.Government rice stocks managed by Bulog reached 5.24 million tons as of July 22, 2026, up 244.74 percent from levels before the 2023 El Nino peak.The government rice reserve, known as CBP, supports rice-market stability through programs including food assistance and measures to stabilize food supplies and prices.