The implementation of a food security program proceeds in the form of cluster-based and multi-commodity large-scale farming (crop plants, horticulture, cattle, plantations) developed through integrated an upstream / downstream production value system, incorporating modern machinery, technology information systems and government-farmer-private sector partnerships. The Ministry of Defense maintains that food estate integration was created through integration of sectors and sub-sectors on a large scale food production value system in farming areas. Close coordination also exists between the ministries carrying out the food security program with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Housing to receive needed infrastructure support: road access, irrigation, docks, and housing for workers.
The need for human resources is also crucial in the implementation of a food security program. The Ministry of Defense and other ministries want to use the human resources optimally and manage them with strict procedures and strong organisation. Therefore, this program aims to develop an agribusiness system which is strongly rooted in the villages, and is based on local communities as the strong foundation of human resources in farming. The COVID-19 pandemic at the time threatened the farming center areas, such that more than 30% of farmers were unable to work in their fields due to mobilisation restrictions from the government and also from COVID-19 infection.
Food Resilience in a Volatile Future
Cassava has become one of the best alternative commodities to be developed, in order to fulfill the food security reserve stock. Cassava is a plant that is very agile in adapting to the environment so it can grow in all provinces in Indonesia. Cassava is easily accepted by people outside Java, because the commodity is already widely developed and cultivated outside Java.
Cassava cultivation development for the national food security program from the Ministry of Defense for the next five years has the following objectives:
1. To increase the production and productivity of cassava plants sustainably, to fulfill the need of food reserves.
2. To improve the added value and competitive edge of products through cassava product diversification.
3. To improve environmentally-friendly and sustainable cassava governance.
The cassava program, as a national strategic food reserve, projects a main production target of food material as a strategic food reserve, adding 120 days of national food availability. With a population of 280 million people and average Recommended Dietary Allowance of 300 grams/day/capita, we will need 10 million tons of carbohydrates, equal to 40 million tonnes of cassava. The target is expected to be reached in 2024/2025. The form of product from this program is food material from cassava as tapioca and MOCAF flour which later will be used to replace tapioca imports and as a composite with wheat flour.
The tapioca target production is 6.9 million tons/year in 2025. The achievement is reached through a yearly tapioca production target from 2021 to 2025. The projection of yearly tapioca production will reach 552 thousand tons in 2022 and is expected to rise to 1.5 and 3.2 million in 2023 and 2024. This number also is expected to increase and reach 6.9 million tons in 2025. Meanwhile, for MOCAF as a flour composite until 2025, the production target is 20% of all national flour demand or about 2.89 million tons/year. This target is reached through a yearly production target from 2023 to 2025, as shown in Table 10. The yearly projection of MOCAF production will reach 129 thousand tons in 2023 and will keep increasing until it reaches1.4 million in 2024. This number is expected to reach 2.89 million tons in 2025, which equals 20% of the national flour demand at that time.
Cassava has a higher productivity, compared with other crop plants such as rice, corn, and soybeans. Cassava production keeps increasing from 1993, with production of 12.4 million tons and in 2017 of 24.4 million tons. However, in 2018, there was a reduction in land size. The land size for cassava in 2018 was 0.79 million hectares from a previous 1.07 million hectares. Even the size in 2018 shrank to almost in half of 1993. The impact of this reduction is a reduction in production from the previous year at 19.34 million tons. Production in 2018 equaled production in 2005. This could have been an opportunity, because the land size for cassava in 2005 was larger compared to 2018, but with the same production results. This indicated that the cassava productivity per hectares had increased from before.
Indonesia is one of the largest tapioca importers in the world, including product from Thailand and Vietnam, which revealed a high demand in Indonesia for this product. Demand for imported tapioca soared in 2012, 2015, and 2016. This phenomenon caused a drastic decrease in cassava price at the farmers level. Therefore, we need a suitable policy so the tapioca price in Indonesia can compete with the tapioca price from other countries. This is mainly to control the selling price of tapioca and fresh cassava in increasing added value and business profit. Among the cassava derivative products that be realized soon are glucose, dextrin/maltodextrin, alcohol (ethanol and buthanol), and bioflavonoids. The choice of products are based on the economy or market value potential, national strategic value, and processing technology readiness
Toward a Sustainable Business Model
The development of food security areas needed sustainable financing, as investment capital and working capital for operational needs. President Joko Widodo at the beginning of the signing of the food security program determined that the government is releasing a one-time investment, through the State Budget, in the form of CAPEX and OPEX to fund the food security program for the first three years (2020-2022). Afterwards, the financing or investment policy of the the State Budget were expected to run independently without further additional investment. Then, beside the State Budget, investment can be from the local government, private sector, state-owned enterprises, and financing organizations/banking investment policy. Besides that, the people’s investment role is also one of the financing tools for food security in the future.
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The development of food security project financing can be carried out by increasing the use of a PPP (Public Private Partnership) scheme or cooperation between government and private sector and CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Besides that, through direct lending from development partners to state-owned enterprises, Municipal Development Fund (MDF), and issuance of state obligations to finance district infrastructure development. The teamwork intends to hasten the target completion of food security area development by involving the private sector in providing public infrastructure.
To ensure financial sustainability of the Cassava Estate program, the Ministry of Defense proposed a closed loop system which integrated the value chain process from upstream to downstream. With this scheme, we hope that the initial funds given by the government can be used afterwards without requesting more funds from the State Budget in the future. Furthermore, the Cassava Estate also has a target to create a national food reserve, that keeps growing continously, funded by product sales from production output of tapioca and MOCAF.