VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Agriculture Ministry maintains 11 commodities to guarantee food security amid the crisis caused by Covid-19 pandemic. That was stated by Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo in a webinar themed "Indonesian Food Security and Self-Sufficiency 20145 in Relations with Human Resource Quality" organized by National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) in Jakarta on Monday (9/11). The evelen commodities include rice, corn, shallot, garlic, chili, cayenne pepper, beef, carabeef, purebred chicken meat, sugar, and cooking oil. Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo predicted that food security in Indonesia will be safe until December 2020, because the eleven commodities have been secured.

Besides maintaining the availability of the 11 main food commodities, the Agriculture Ministry also maintains the import substitutes, such as garlic and beef. 

The Agriculture Ministry also attempts to guarantee food supply not only until 2020, but also until the next two years to face the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture Ministry took some steps to maintain the availability, namely by expanding the planting area for corn and shallot. In addition, the Ministry also tried to increase productions of sugar, beef, and garlic. It also made local food diversification such as cassava, corn, banana, potato, and sorghum besides utilizing yards and marginal land through Sustainable Food Gardening (P2L) Program and urban farming.

Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo further stated that many celebrities or high officials are planting food in their gardens. 

Furthermore, the government also made food estates in national, provincial, regency, and even village level that are expected to guarantee people food supply, besides also developing milling strategy command and price stabilization.