Prabowo to Lead TNI's National Great Harvest in Malang

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto is scheduled to lead a simultaneous national harvest festival organized by the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) to support food resilience in Malang Regency, East Java, on Friday, July 17, 2026.State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi stated that the TNI's food resilience program involves three branches—the Army, Navy, and Air Force—according to their respective expertise. "The Army assists in the cultivation of rice and corn, the Navy develops soybeans, while the Air Force focuses on sugarcane," Prasetyo said in his statement on Friday.In the first six months of 2026, the Army has covered 6.26 million hectares of rice fields with a production of around 19.2 million tons of rice, equivalent to 55.24 percent of the national rice production target this year, Prasetyo said.In the soybean sector, the Navy assisted an area of 2,432 hectares with a potential production of 3,676 tons. Meanwhile, the Air Force assisted 236,048 hectares of sugarcane fields with a potential production of 18.386 million tons, equivalent to around 1.36 million tons of sugar or 45.05 percent of the national sugar production target for 2026.According to Prasetyo, the Abdulrachman Saleh Malang Airbase is an example of the integrated development of the sugarcane ecosystem from upstream to downstream. In addition to producing sugar, sugarcane is also processed into bioethanol, environmentally friendly fuel, organic fertilizer, and various value-added industrial products.Meanwhile, President Prabowo has departed for East Java Province to attend this national harvest festival. Cabinet Secretary Lieutenant Colonel TNI Teddy Indra Wijaya stated that the Head of State, along with a limited entourage, took off from the Halim Perdanakusuma Airbase, Jakarta, onboard the Indonesian-1 Presidential Aircraft.Upon arrival at the Abdulrachman Saleh Airbase in Malang Regency, Prabowo is scheduled to proceed directly to the harvest festival, which is carried out at 43 locations across the country.In detail, rice harvest by the Army is conducted at 31 locations, soybean harvesting by the Navy at 4 locations, and sugarcane harvesting accompanied by the Air Force at 8 locations.Besides attending the harvest festival, President Prabowo is scheduled to inspect several booths showcasing the TNI's flagship programs and various downstream initiatives that support the increase in added value for the national agricultural and industrial sectors.Teddy claimed that through this activity, Prabowo aims to ensure the integrated strengthening of the food sector. "Starting from increasing production and assisting farmers to downstream activities to allow for greater added value for the welfare of the people," said Teddy.Read: TNI Manages 2.5 Million Hectares to Support Food Security Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News