PALANGKA RAYA – EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATION BUREAU. Governor of Central Kalimantan Sugianto Sabran accompanied the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto on his working visit to Tewai Baru Village, Sepang District, Gunung Mas Regency on Wednesday (10/3/2021).

Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto’s working visit to Sepang District area aimed to directly inspect the progress of the development of cassava plantations for the Strategic Food Reserve program which is part of the Government’s efforts to realize National Food Security.

At around 09.20 a.m., the helicopter carrying the Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto and Governor Sugianto Sabran along with their entourage landed in Tewai Baru Village, Sepang District. The arrival of the Minister of Defense and the Governor of Central Kalimantan was greeted by the Regent of Gunung Mas Jaya S. Monong, Regional Police Chief Inspector General Pol Dedi Prasetyo, Military Commander 102 / Pjg Brigadier General Purwo Sudaryanto, and Head of TPHP Office of Central Kalimantan Province, Sunarti.

The Indonesian Defense Minister’s accompanying group on the visit included Inspector General (Irjen) of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General TNI Ida Bagus Purwalaksana, Secretary of the Defense Facilities Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, Brigadier General TNI Marrahmat, and the Head of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense’s Administration and Protocol Bureau, Brigadier General TNI Rui Duarte.

Furthermore, the Minister of Defense, Governor of Central Kalimantan, and their entourage then headed to the Observation Post by driving a car while directly seeing the land that was being prepared for planting cassava. During the visit, the Minister of Defense and the Governor also conducted an aerial inspection. As soon as he arrived at the Observation Post, the Minister of Defense immediately held a meeting with all related parties to find out the progress of the development of the cassava commodity in Gunung Mas Regency.

During the meeting, the Minister of Defense revealed the prospect of a Strategic Food Reserve program in the form of cassava plants in Gunung Mas Regency. As have been known, this Strategic Food Reserve program will be later developed from upstream to downstream industry which is expected to not only support the National Food Security, but also improve the economy and welfare of the surrounding community. “The point is that this area will be very productive,” said Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto.

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto then explained that the cassava plant is also a strategic commodity because cassava is relatively easy to grow and has a lot of derivative products. “Because, later we will process it, we export, right? So, process it, because from cassava we can make dozens of its derivatives. Some can be noodles, some can be other food, some can be ethanol, and so on,” concluded the Minister of Defense.

After the meeting, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and the Indonesian Ministry of Defense entourage flew back with an Indonesian Air Force Helicopter to Tjilik Riwut Airport, Palangka Raya to then immediately take off to Jakarta using a VIP Air Force Airplane. (set/bow/translated by feb)