REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BRISBANE -- New Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo wishes to make the country self-sufficient in food within three years by implementing a number of programs. 

In a meeting on Friday night, the president told Indonesian community members in Australia that the country's dependence on other nations for food commodities had been considerable.

"I have told ministers that we have to become self-reliant within three years, especially with regard to rice, corn and soybean. We may extend it to up to five years for sugar," he said.

President Jokowi is currently in Australia to attend the G20 Summit scheduled to be held on November 15 and 16. He flew to Australia from Myanmar, where he attended an ASEAN summit. Moreover, he has threatened to replace ministers concerned if the target is not achieved.

"We have to set a target when we work. If the target is not met, I will certainly replace them (the ministers). We have not been able to achieve self-reliance in food commodities for tens of years. Yesterday, I met with the Vietnamese president and he asked if Indonesia needed more rice (import)," he stated.

Jokowi further added that he believed harvests would be abundant if irrigation networks were rehabilitated in the upcoming years. With this in mind, he pointed out that he had also ordered the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) to prepare itself to collect the harvest and downstream industries to accommodate it. President Jokowi noted that they would " concentration on food and energy," as well as renewable energy sources.

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