Long Drought, Breadfruit Potential Food Source for Indonesian Food Sovereignty

Indonesia is grappling with prolonged drought conditions across the archipelago. According to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), as of mid-September 2026, approximately 81 percent of Indonesia's regions have entered the dry season. A total of 1,637 monitoring points have recorded extreme dry conditions, with over 60 consecutive days without rain, spread across almost all of Indonesia. The combination of this drought and the strengthening El Niño phenomenon has also fueled the expansion of forest and land fires. Satellite monitoring on September 13, 2026, detected 627 high-confidence hotspots in Kalimantan, followed by 200 in Papua and Maluku, 104 in Sulawesi, and 86 in Sumatra. Some of these have already triggered cross-border haze. The Ministry of Agriculture has confirmed an increase in the area of paddy fields affected by drought due to the El Niño phenomenon. By mid-September 2026, the total agricultural area impacted by drought in Indonesia had surged to 50,000 hectares. A significant portion of this vulnerability lies in rain-fed agricultural areas or upland regions lacking adequate irrigation network access. Amidst this situation, the potential of the breadfruit tree (Artocarpus altilis) as a food source, based on its root system and harvest pattern independent of the rainy season, has yet to be widely recognized by the public. Research published in the Journal Agrosilvopasture-Tech in 2024 characterized the morphology of breadfruit in Ohoitahit Village and Danar, Kei Kecil Islands, Southeast Maluku, a region with an average rainfall of only 200-400 millimeters per year and a long dry season from June to November. This study highlights the breadfruit's resilience in challenging climatic conditions, underscoring its potential role in Indonesia's food security.