Minister supports corn industry transformation

Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, has expressed his support for the transformation of the maize industry by encouraging innovation and the use of appropriate agricultural technologies to strengthen national food security.

The government has pledged to take steps to encourage maize production, including securing supplies for domestic needs through intensification and extensification programs.

“Based on USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) data for 2022, Indonesia’s corn production is 34.4 million tons, and we can be proud that over the past three years , there was no need to import maize for animal feed,” said Hartarto. in a statement issued Thursday in Jakarta.

The next step taken by the government is to promote efficiency at all levels of the maize supply chain, from the harvesting process, post-harvest handling, storage, to transportation and distribution through the application of appropriate agricultural innovations and technologies.

In addition, Hartarto said the government has made efforts to diversify foods to strengthen the food security base by increasing the production of other staples, such as soybeans, cassava, sorghum, etc.

Furthermore, the government is encouraging the use of superior seeds from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to increase the productivity of foodstuffs, especially rice and maize, so that they can be produced in a relatively short time.

Given the high downstream potential in the corn processing industry for the production of processed foods such as corn starch, corn vermicelli, corn grits, corn flour, sweeteners and snacks, he said he hopes the corn processing industry will grow in a number. of domains.

Then, adjustments can also be made based on maize feedstock specifications for domestic production and industrial needs as well as increasing aflatoxin levels in domestic maize production.

“We should also be grateful that the needs of the food and beverage industry for the supply of raw materials and auxiliary materials are more secure with the implementation of the raw material balance policy,” said The Minister.

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