Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia expressed confidence about its food security outlook, citing rising agricultural production, stronger government food reserves, and improved policy incentives as it advances long-term efforts to build a more productive, resilient, and self-sufficient food system.Hasil Sembiring, Special Adviser to the Minister of Agriculture for Agricultural Production Enhancement, said on Monday that Indonesia had made progress toward food self-sufficiency during the first 1-1.5 years of President Prabowo Subianto's administration.“Indonesia has demonstrated measurable progress, marked by a sharp increase in rice production in 2025, stronger public food reserves, and improved incentives for farmers, demonstrating that coordinated reforms can deliver results,” he said at a media briefing organised by the Government Communication Agency (Bakom RI) in Jakarta.Rice production reached 34.69 million tons in 2025, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), up 4.07 million tons, or about 13.29 percent, from 2024. Government rice reserves reached a record 5.25 million tons on July 30, 2026.Indonesia's rice production is projected to reach 38.6 million tons in the 2026/2027 marketing year, up 0.2 percent from the previous year, which would make it the largest rice producer in Southeast Asia, he added.Sembiring said Indonesia's rice production outlook remained positive despite forecasts of declining global rice output due to the impacts of El Nino and shrinking planting areas in several countries. Beyond rice, Indonesia has also made progress toward self-sufficiency in other strategic food commodities.He noted that the government has designated 11 strategic food commodities: rice, large chillies, bird's eye chillies, corn, sugar, chicken meat, chicken eggs, shallots, garlic, soybeans, and beef.According to the government's 2026 Food Balance Projection, Indonesia is expected to record production surpluses in eight of those commodities: rice, large chillies, bird's eye chillies, corn, sugar, chicken meat, chicken eggs, and shallots.Indonesia could also become an exporter of chicken meat, chicken eggs, and shallots, Sembiring said.”Therefore, we present our progress with confidence,” he said.Food self-sufficiency is one of Prabowo's flagship policy priorities. The government had initially targeted achieving the goal within four years but brought the timeline forward after Indonesia achieved rice self-sufficiency in December 2025, one year into Prabowo's administration.Sembiring attributed the progress to reforms across the agricultural production system, including timely access to farm inputs, improved water availability, mechanisation, higher-quality seeds, better farmer protection, and stronger farm-gate incentives.The government is also transforming to modernise traditional farming through modern rice cultivation methods, drone-based seeding, robotic planting, pump irrigation, and other technologies.Those advances are also strengthening Indonesia's resilience to climate-related challenges, including El Nino, Sembiring said.