Sumatra Disaster Threatens Food Supply

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Disasters in several areas across three provinces in Sumatra threaten food supply. Looting of minimarkets and warehouses of Perum Bulog has occurred due to delays in assistance. Thousands of hectares of agricultural land have also been inundated and damaged due to flooding.

The National Food Agency (Bapanas), the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan), and Bulog have also intervened. An increase in rice stock has been implemented, and food assistance for low-income families continues to be distributed. Assistance in the form of food crop seeds, livestock, and veterinary medicines has been prepared.

Burglary and looting of minimarkets occurred in Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra, following a flash flood that struck the area. Similar looting also took place at rice and cooking oil storage warehouses owned by Bulog in Dayah Timu Sigli, Pidie, Aceh, and Sarudik Sibolga in Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra.

Meanwhile, thousands of hectares of rice fields in several districts are flooded. As of November 29, 2025, the Padang Pariaman Regency Government in West Sumatra reported that 341 hectares of rice fields and 106 hectares of corn land are inundated. The potential losses, not including damaged irrigation, are approximately Rp 13 billion.

The report on the affected areas was also submitted by the Aceh Utara, Agam, and Mandailing Natal regencies. The rice fields affected by the disaster in Aceh Utara, Agam, and Mandailing Natal cover areas of 616 hectares, 31.8 hectares, and 2,830.11 hectares, respectively.

The Minister of Agriculture and also the Head of Bapanas, Andi Amran Sulaiman, on Monday (1/12/2025), stated that he has instructed the acceleration of the distribution of Government Food Reserves (CPP), including rice and cooking oil. A joint team has also been deployed to distribute assistance and assess the real food needs in the disaster-affected areas of Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.

Coordination with local governments, the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the military (TNI), and the police (Polri) has also been strengthened. "I request that the food distribution posts operate 24 hours and that the logistics routes are ensured to be free of obstacles," said Amran in a press release.

According to Amran, these measures are taken to ensure that food assistance is distributed quickly in the right quantity and to the appropriate targets. This effort is also aimed at maintaining the stability of food supply and prices amid the emergency situation.

The Ministry of Agriculture has also ordered the assessment of rice fields and agricultural land affected. The Ministry has prepared a support scheme for the agricultural and livestock sectors in the three provinces.

"Seeds and livestock medications have been prepared. I have asked the directors general (at the Ministry of Agriculture) to focus on assisting our farmers and livestock breeders. Everyone is focused on helping the people," he stated.

The President Director of Perum Bulog, Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani, stated that two Bulog warehouses in Dayah Timu Sigli and Sarudik Sibolga have been looted following the disaster. The rice and cooking oil stored in those two warehouses, as well as one warehouse in Labuhan Deli, Medan, were also affected by the flooding.

Currently, Bulog is calculating the total volume of commodities affected by the disaster. Nevertheless, Bulog's public service operations continue to function amid the emergency situation.

"We continue to distribute the CPP and local government food reserves, social and environmental responsibility (TJLS), as well as food assistance for low-income families," said Rizal.

He explained that as of November 30, 2025, Bulog has distributed regional government rice reserves to Aceh amounting to 152,893 kilograms (kg), North Sumatra amounting to 72,630 kg, and West Sumatra amounting to 61,554 kg.

Bulog has also provided 1,500 kg of rice, 300 liters of cooking oil, 160 kg of sugar, 20 boxes of instant noodles, 20 boxes of biscuits, and 1,200 portions of boxed rice to disaster victims as part of Bulog's TJLS.

In addition, Bulog will continue the distribution of food assistance for low-income families in three disaster-affected provinces until the end of December 2025. The assistance consists of 34,303 tons of rice and 6,321 tons of cooking oil.

Aceh will receive 10,614 tons of rice and 1,954 tons of cooking oil. North Sumatra will be allocated 16,894 tons of rice and 3,108 tons of cooking oil. Meanwhile, West Sumatra will receive 6,795 tons of rice and 1,250 tons of cooking oil.

Bulog, Rizal continued, is also increasing the rice stock to strengthen the availability of food supplies for equitable distribution and the acceleration of recovery in areas affected by disasters. The rice stock in Sibolga will be increased by 1,562 tons from Jakarta and Medan. Meanwhile, for Nias, it will be increased by 1,650 tons from Jakarta and Padang.

The Central Statistics Agency estimates that the potential national rice production from November 2025 to January 2026 is quite substantial. However, this rice production is at risk of decreasing due to disasters occurring in several regions, particularly in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.

Based on the results of the Area Sample Framework (KSA) for Rice Observation in October 2025, BPS estimates the national rice production from November 2025 to January 2026 to be 3.93 million tons. This production represents an increase of 0.63 million tons or 18.69 percent compared to the actual rice production from November 2025 to January 2026.

BPS estimates that national rice production in November 2025-January 2026 will be 3.93 million tons.

BPS also recorded the potential rice harvest in several regions in Indonesia over the next three months or from November 2025 to January 2026. Three of the potential harvest areas are located in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra, where several regions are currently affected by hydrometeorological disasters.

In Aceh, for example, the potential rice harvest in November 2025 and December 2026 covers an area of 26,020 hectares and 18,670 hectares, respectively. In North Sumatra, the potential rice harvest from November 2025 to January 2026 covers an area of 24,480 hectares, 22,850 hectares, and 48,370 hectares, respectively.

The Deputy for Distribution Statistics and Services of BPS, Pudji Ismartini, stated that the potential for rice crop failure due to the impacts of extreme weather is likely to occur in November-December 2025. By the end of November 2025, extreme rainfall has caused flooding in several areas of Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.

"Certainly, this will impact rice plants and rice production in those areas. Currently, we have extended field observations of KSA in those three provinces. The potential for crop failure in the three disaster-affected areas will be communicated in January 2026," he said.

BPS recorded that throughout 2025, the potential rice production in Aceh reached 1.01 million tons, an increase of 5.49 percent year-on-year. The potential rice production in North Sumatra is also expected to rise by 24.34 percent year-on-year to 1.57 million tons. Meanwhile, West Sumatra's rice production is estimated to be 791,676 tons, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 0.8 percent.