Indonesia prepares strategies to respond to global food crisis

Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesia has prepared several strategies to address the impact of the current global food crisis, which include increasing production, diversifying food, strengthening stocks, and modernising the agriculture sector, according to the country’s Ministry of Agriculture.

During a recent virtual discussion on “Handling the Threat of a Global Food Crisis”, director of cereal at the ministry’s Directorate General of Food Crops Ismail Wahab said that the production of staple foods, especially rice, corn, and soybeans, needs to be increased to ensure they are always available and in a surplus.

Earlier, President Joko Widodo said that Indonesia has been able to meet domestic rice demand without relying on imports for the last three consecutive years.

However, the country still needs to import corn and soybeans to meet domestic needs, Ismail Wahab said, adding that the government is trying to substitute imported corn with domestic production.

Furthermore, the government has devised a road map for planting soybean over up to 1.5 million hectares by 2026 to meet national demand without resorting to imports, he said.

He went on to say the food crisis must be prevented through diversification.

Wahab said that per capita rice consumption must be reduced and replaced with other staple food, such as cassava, sago, and sorghum, whose production is abundant in the country.

The next strategy is to increase food stocks and strengthen logistics. Indonesia must set up food granaries at the village, sub-district, district, city, province, and national levels, he said.

It is also important to carry out agricultural modernisation and use superior seed varieties, he added./.