Rice Self-sufficiency Initiatives in Indonesia, Bangladesh and Senegal: A Comparative Analysis

This article examines the persistence of rice self-sufficiency as a policy goal across the Global South through a comparative analysis of Indonesia, Bangladesh and Senegal. The article argues that the malleable nature of rice self-sufficiency has allowed this policy concept to survive dramatic shifts in development paradigms while serving diverse state objectives. Through the examination of three country cases with distinct colonial histories, agroecological conditions and development trajectories, the article explores how the flexibility of rice self-sufficiency enables states to manage the competing pressures of extending territorial control while promising rural autonomy, maintaining nationalist legitimacy while deepening global market integration, and balancing urban consumer demands with rural producer interests. This flexibility helps to explain both the durability of the concept of food self-sufficiency and the contradictory policies pursued in its name, from protectionism and state-led agricultural development to privatization and trade liberalization. A deeper understanding of the persistence of rice self-sufficiency in turn illuminates broader patterns in how state agents and policy makers deploy flexible policy concepts to navigate competing pressures while maintaining political legitimacy.