VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian government is wary of a number of situations that threaten the world today after the Covid-19 pandemic has begun to be handled. Deputy for Diversification of Consumption and Food Safety at the National Food Agency, Andriko Noto Susanto, said that among the situations currently receiving attention are the global political situation, the Russia-Ukraine war, climate change, disasters, including the food crisis.

"We want to ensure that in the future we can handle everything properly, we don't get caught in a food crisis, but instead we can become food support for other countries that need it," he said during a visit to RRI Voice of Indonesia, Wednesday (21/12 ) in Jakarta.

Andriko said that to anticipate the challenges of the global food crisis, the National Food Agency is taking a number of steps to be implemented in 2023. The first is strengthening food reserves and the second is stabilizing food supply and prices.

"The key is stable food. Producers are prosperous, traders are profitable and the people are smiling," he said.

The third is strengthening the logistics system. Related to this, according to Andriko, the government plans to build a strong logistics system infrastructure starting from the regions to the central level.

"Including how to build our archipelagic infrastructure, how to make warehousing and other things. We encourage every province, district, to do that, including the central government," he said.

The fourth step that the government will take to anticipate the global food crisis is to eliminate the food insecurity status that still exists in a number of regions.

"So there are around 1,400 sub-districts that are still in the red zone. We will make them green later by synergizing and collaborating across sectors because indeed food is not only the concern of the National Food Agency but cross-sectoral," he said.

Another thing that will be carried out by the National Food Agency is diversification of food consumption. Andriko Noto Susanto said the government encourages people to start consuming diverse, nutritious and balanced foods.

"We will carry out an education promotion campaign for the B2S Diversity with Balanced Nutrition. We will continue to carry it out with 514 urban districts throughout Indonesia," he said.

The sixth step that the government will take to anticipate the threat of a global food crisis is quality assurance and food safety monitoring. According to Andriko, the government encourages safe food distribution to the community so that food safety can be guaranteed.

"Those with middle to upper income levels are more concerned about health, from eating full to eating healthy, so it must be ensured that the food from upstream to downstream, both before being distributed and when it has been distributed, is in a safe situation," he said.

Furthermore, Andriko Noto Susanto said that food safety measures should start from the individual community. According to him, if an individual in society has achieved food security, the Indonesian nation can easily achieve food security status and be better prepared to face the challenges of the global food crisis. (VOI/Andy)