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๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia /Economy & Trade

Prabowo hails NTT as potential global food source

From Tempo · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Context piece
  • President Prabowo Subianto expressed optimism about East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) becoming a significant domestic and global food source.
  • He highlighted the region's potential in fisheries, seaweed, and developing unproductive land for agriculture.
  • Prabowo emphasized the need for big thinking, high targets, and technological solutions like desalination and solar energy to achieve food resilience.

President Prabowo Subianto visited East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), a region recently affected by earthquakes, and voiced strong optimism about its potential to become a major food source for both Indonesia and the world. During a coordination briefing on earthquake response, Prabowo identified significant opportunities in NTT's food, fisheries, and seaweed sectors, alongside its vast tracts of land ripe for agricultural development.

optimistic

โ€” President Prabowo SubiantoDescribing his outlook on East Nusa Tenggara's potential as a food source.

"We must dare to think big and set high targets," Prabowo urged, stressing the importance of ambitious goals to unlock the region's potential. He specifically pointed to the fisheries and seaweed industries as having high prospects, encouraging local communities to leverage marine resources for food security and economic growth. "There's great potential for fisheries here," he observed, noting the deep blue, unpolluted seas visible from the air.

dare to think big and set high targets.

โ€” President Prabowo SubiantoUrging a bold approach to developing NTT's potential.

Beyond marine resources, Prabowo advocated for transforming unproductive land into productive agricultural areas to bolster national food resilience. Plans are underway to open 8,000 hectares for agriculture and 100 hectares for fisheries cultivation in Nagekeo Regency. "Your people are struggling; they're hungry, how can you make them not hungry? We'll turn unproductive land into productive land," he stated, addressing the immediate needs of the local population.

There's great potential for fisheries here. We can see from the plane that the sea is deep blue and unpolluted. You can develop the fisheries and seaweed sectors here.

โ€” President Prabowo SubiantoHighlighting the opportunities in NTT's marine resources.

To support these development plans, Prabowo underscored the critical need for water availability, calling for the implementation of desalination technology, even at the village level, to provide clean water for coastal and island areas. He also proposed utilizing solar energy, suggesting the potential construction of solar power plants on unproductive mountains to power economic projects. This vision for NTT integrates resource development with technological innovation to ensure food security and regional prosperity.

Your people are struggling; they're hungry, how can you make them not hungry? We'll turn unproductive land into productive land.

โ€” President Prabowo SubiantoAddressing the need to improve livelihoods through land development.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Tempo in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.