Readout of the Bilateral Meeting between FAO Director-General and H.E. Syahrul Yasin Limpo Minster for Agriculture of Indonesia

Bali--The FAO Director General QU Dongyu met on 27 September 2022 with H.E. Syahrul Yasin Limpo, Minister for Agriculture of Indonesia on the side lines of the G20 Agriculture Ministers Meeting.

The Minister conveyed appreciation on behalf of H.E. Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia, to the Director-General for his participation in the G20 Agriculture Group Meeting and conveyed the invitation from the President to meet with him during the G20 Summit in November.

The Minister highlighted the resilience and achievements of the Indonesia agriculture sector during the current challenging times, reflected by the growth of the sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, and briefed on the status of implementation of the FAO programmes in Indonesia, including the One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) and the 1000 Digital Villages initiative. The Minister also expressed appreciation for the technical support provided by FAO such as for the animal health programme.

The Minister confirmed the strong commitment by the President to allocate more resources to develop agriculture and digitalization in agriculture. He noted that agriculture exports had tripled in the last few years and that credit to small farmers had enhanced family welfare. Given the success of the programme, the President had allocated more money to the KUR (Kredit Usaha Rakyat) programme.

The Minister went on to inform that the country had good rice stocks, with increased production and minimal import for normal rice consumption, and with 1.2 million metric tons of rice in stock to be exported to countries in need. The Minister also mentioned the ongoing training programme for young farmers, and the successful food estate for rice, maize and soya beans.

The FAO Director-General commended the strong leadership of the President and the Minister in agricultural development in Indonesia, and reiterated his firm commitment for the continued support by FAO to Indonesia. The Director-General noted that the G20 Presidency provided an opportunity to show Indonesia’s experience and leadership, and the potential it had to be a leading example in the region for agriculture development. The Director-General also noted that Indonesia had an important role to play internationally in the face of global challenges, and reconfirmed FAO’s support in this regard.

The Director-General commended Indonesia for the success in building a resilient agrifood system, feeding almost 275 million people, and noted the importance of transforming agrifood systems and focusing on green development. In this regard, he referred to the need to exchange information especially through the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), noting that increased production was good, but that it also required information on international markets. The Director-General further highlighted the importance of innovation in the agriculture sector.

Finally, the Director-General emphasized the potential of Indonesia to help other countries in the region, and globally, through South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC), especially among the tropical countries.

The Director-General confirmed he looked forward to meeting with the President of Indonesia during the G20 Summit in November.