Growing Corn on Police Land

March 24, 2026 | 03:46 pm

There are many irregularities in the data concerning the achievement of National Police production targets for corn. The President is taking the police away from its core responsibilities.

DURING the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, the National Police (Polri) has moved further and further away from its main duties and functions. As an institution that should focus on maintaining law and order, the police has been busy managing the President’s political programs.

This deviation from its core responsibilities began when Prabowo rolled out a number of flagship programs in the first year of his government. The Ministry of Agriculture should be the institution responsible for matters of food sustainability, while the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) runs the free nutritious meal program.

But Prabowo has chosen a strategy by asking the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police to “intervene” in the achievement of self-sufficiency for rice, corn, and soybeans. The military has been tasked with handling rice and soybeans, while the police is responsible for corn.

National Police Chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo subsequently established a Food Sustainability Task Force to exploit idle land owned by the police throughout Indonesia. As a result, in the past year, Polri has been busy managing food sustainability projects. Officers have vied to organize food events as “badges of honor” to gain promotion or obtain better positions.

At first glance, this massive undertaking appears to be running smoothly and hitting its targets. However, this magazine’s investigation reveals that the “rush-job” corn cultivation process is plagued by issues in numerous regions. In Mojokerto Regency, East Java, the police’s corn fields failed to yield a harvest due to poorly timed planting seasons. In Yogyakarta, harvest targets fell short following an onslaught of monkey pests.

Officers have reportedly maneuvered to ensure targets are met. Some have resorted to purchasing corn from other regions or claiming local farmers’ produce as their own achievement. As a result, several regions with no historical record of corn farming have suddenly reported massive production figures. Despite this chaotic process, National Police Headquarters claims to have met the production target of 3.5 million tons of corn.

The involvement does not stop at food production, the police are also managing Nutrition Service Units (SPPG) to provide free nutritious meals. Currently, the number of SPPG managed by the Kemala Bhayangkari Foundation—the organization for the wives of police officers—has reached over 1,000 units. The National Nutrition Agency granted a special privilege to the Kemala Bhayangkari Foundation to operate this vast number of kitchens, even as other operators are limited to a maximum of only 10 units. Accusations of a monopoly have become unavoidable. The National Nutrition Agency should instead facilitate more suppliers to ensure this high-budget program creates a domino effect that stimulates the grassroots economy.

The police involvement with corn and nutritious food is a result of two converging interests: Prabowo Subianto, who wants his orders to be carried out quickly, and Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who wants to hold onto his position as the top man in Polri. Appointed in January 2021, Listyo Sigit has held his post for five years—the longest serving National Police chief in history.

In order to accommodate the President’s wishes, accountability of programs has been ignored, especially in relation to budgets. It is widely known that the funding for duties outside core responsibilities often comes from off-budget funds—which readily leads to abuses of authority.

Another pressing issue is the abandonment of institutional reform, a cause Prabowo once championed by establishing the Commission for the Acceleration of Police Reform. Before the commission could even complete its work, a series of scandals highlighted the rot within the force. The most recent include the exposure of drug syndicates involving the Police Chiefs of Bima, West Nusa Tenggara, and South Sulawesi, as well as the killing of a student in Tual, Maluku, at the hands of a Mobile Brigade (Brimob) member.

Prabowo must stop using the military and police as pawns in his political and power plays. Without a change in course, the hope for a professional TNI and National Police will drift further out of reach.

Read the Complete Story in Tempo English Magazine

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