Minister of Trade, Zulkifli Hasan, visited Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo, at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Office to ensure that the collaboration in developing national food availability continues to be well-maintained.
“There cannot be any gap between ministries. We are already used to calling each other through phones,” Hasan remarked while visiting Limpo here on Monday.
The ministries of trade and agriculture should be at the front line of the effort to provide protection to small farmers and merchants, he said.
The collaboration that will be developed will include preventing farmers from experiencing losses by creating protections or regulations so that Indonesia becomes capable of curbing imports of garlic, sugar, and soybeans.
It is important to prevent excessive imports given that Indonesia does not need to purchase these commodities, he explained.
The Ministry of Trade is ready to follow the Ministry of Agriculture’s regulations and programs to maintain Indonesia’s food supply so that it increases and directly affects farmers’ prosperity, he said.
Meanwhile, Limpo expressed his gratitude for Hasan’s visit to discuss maintaining national food availability.
According to Limpo, the collaboration would be beneficial for developing a stronger agriculture sector.
“This is something that is very good for us to develop Indonesia’s agriculture sector together,” he said.
Hasan was appointed as Indonesia’s Minister of Trade on June 15, 2022, in place of Muhammad Lutfi.
Hasan is expected to focus on handling domestic trade issues.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) expects Hasan’s appointment to resolve existing issues, starting from supply chain issues to the rising prices of basic necessities, including cooking oil.
Jokowi said that Hasan has the necessary experience and a long track record, which will be good for his appointment as Minister of Trade.
The issue of food requires field experience and fieldwork through direct observation of problems primarily related to people’s basic necessities.
Source: Antara News