Heru Budi to Develop Food Estate in Jakarta's Thousand Islands

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta Acting Governor Heru Budi Hartono said that land in the Thousand Islands or Seribu Islands is suitable for use as a food estate for Jakarta in 2025. He added that this was based on the study conducted by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

"Based on the study held by BRIN and the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), the Thousand Islands is rich with the potential for fish, seaweed, and many others, so they can be used as barns in 2025," Heru said after a plenary meeting at the Jakarta DPRD building on Wednesday, March 20, as reported by Antara. 

Heru explained that all the sea areas in the Seribu Islands can be used for food estate, while this is not possible in the coastal areas near Jakarta.

To realize the food estate plan, Heru said all parties, including Bappenas, would be involved. The Jakarta provincial government would also conduct further studies to ensure the potential of accelerating the food resilience program in Jakarta.

He has previously mentioned the importance of food estate. "We see that the need for basic commodities in the world is decreasing," Heru said during the opening of the 2024 Musrenbang of the Thousand Islands Regency in Sunter, North Jakarta, on Tuesday, March 19.

Heru sees the Thousand Islands as waters that are rich in marine products such as fish, seaweed, algae, and many others. "So in 2025 and beyond, we need to think about the Seribu Islands becoming a food estate for the people of Jakarta," he said.

In addition, there must be synergy with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (LHK) and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) to maintain and develop the Seribu Islands Regency into a cleaner and more orderly area.

Earlier, the agricultural observer of the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE), Eliza Mardian, strongly criticized the food estate program because it has proven to be a failure and detrimental to society. "This food estate project needs to be completely evaluated because it continues to fail and is detrimental to the surrounding community," he said on Thursday, March 7.

He said it would be difficult to increase food production if the government's policies did not address the root of the problem, which is the welfare of farmers. According to Eliza, improving the welfare of farmers is the most important pillar in making Indonesia a global food exporting country in the future.

ANTARA | NOVALI PANJI NUGROHO

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