VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The National Food Agency (NFA) has started a campaign to promote eating healthy and delicious food by providing recommendations for the composition of foods on the plate in order to reduce waste.



 NFA Head Arief Prasetyo said on Sunday that the campaign aimed to reduce food waste from the farm to the table, was initiated as part of Gelar Pangan Nusantara to mark the 42nd World Food Day.



The campaign is encouraging people to fill one-third of their plates with staple foods (not necessarily rice), one-third with vegetables, one-sixth with side dishes, and one-sixth with fruits.



"Such composition is suitable to meet the standard of expected food pattern as well as energy sufficiency," he explained.



The campaign is also advising people to eat at least one egg every day to increase their nutritional intake and reduce the prevalence of stunting in children, considering that eggs are nutrient-rich and affordable.



As part of this year's Gelar Pangan Nusantara, people and stakeholders related to food have been invited to jointly help achieve food security as a pillar for upholding state sovereignty.



"Through this event, we want to make World Food Day a momentum to recharge our spirit in building and strengthening national food," Prasetyo said.



The event comprises a number of activities such as a series of educational events and several competitions to encourage creativity as well as to entertain—all of which contain messages and campaigns about strengthening food security.



Meanwhile, to ensure that the food security program runs well, Prasetyo has invited stakeholders from the upstream to downstream, along with the pentahelix sector, consisting of academics, businesses, government, community, and the media to continue to strengthen collaboration.



The recent Gelar Pangan Nusantara event held at Brawijaya University in Malang, for example, was a part of efforts to strengthen cooperation between the NFA and the academic sector.



"The NFA as an institution that carries out government duties in the food sector, of course, cannot run alone," Prasetyo said.



As a concrete collaboration, the NFA and Brawijaya University have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on education, research, and community service in the food sector.



They have also signed a cooperation agreement on synergizing education, research, and community services to improve community nutrition through the diversification of consumption of diverse, balanced, and safe foods.



“The cooperation made during World Food Day is in line with the instruction of Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is very serious about dealing with food problems. The President has ordered not only to solve macro and micro problems but also to strengthen collaboration," Prasetyo added.



Meanwhile, deputy governor of East Java, Emil Elestianto Dardak, said that Gelar Pangan Nusantara is an event that seeks to strengthen the spirit of supporting food security programs.



"Through today's event, let's invigorate the spirit, supporting the National Food Agency program to make local food more secure from both supply and demand (side),” he said in his speech.



According to Emil, the NFA in the future will aim to maintain a balance, not only by preventing prices from rising but also keeping them from falling.



The rector of Brawijaya University, Widodo, welcomed the Gelar Pangan Nusantara event, which was held on the campus from October 22–23, 2022, saying the university is ready to support the national food security program through the development of innovation and technology.



The event featured several activities including a food expo, food and nutrition symposium, talk show, local food creation café festival, cooking demo, business matching, coaching clinic, poster contest, as well a drawing competition for elementary and junior high school students. (Antaranews)

The adoption of research, innovation, and technology is expected to be more effective in boosting agricultural production capacity amid rapid population growth, according to the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS), a research institute.

"The government should strengthen existing food production by supporting research and innovation, adopting agricultural technology, and increasing the capacity of farmers to be more productive, including through collaboration with the private sector," said Head of Agricultural Research at CIPS Aditya Alta in a press statement issued here on Monday.

CIPS’ research has recommended increasing land and labor productivity through the use of superior seeds, increasing access to fertilizers, handling pests/plant destruction organisms (OPT), and using agricultural machinery or mechanization.

Further, land productivity can also be increased by improving cultivation techniques, improving and expanding irrigation networks, undertaking weather modifications to mitigate climate change, and increasing human resource capacity in the agricultural sector.

According to Alta, efforts to increase agricultural production through the expansion of agricultural land do not guarantee an increase in food productivity and could potentially damage the environment and exacerbate the climate crisis.

"Land expansion is not effective as the main solution in responding to challenges in the agricultural sector and meeting Indonesia's food needs. This method is not in accordance with the principle of sustainability and has the potential to damage the environment,” he explained.

The agricultural sector, including in Indonesia, is facing many challenges in growing food, he added. One of them is the climate crisis, which is causing various natural disasters whose impact is triggering uncertainty during the planting and harvesting seasons and leading to reduced agricultural production.

Challenges faced in the agricultural sector include the reduction in the number of workers, the declining welfare of farmers, the increasing price of fertilizers, and other issues caused by the global situation.

"The population continues to increase. However, the amount of available land will remain the same and must be shared with infrastructure and industrialization needs. So, the productivity capability on existing agricultural land must be increased to keep up with the growth in food demand," he said.

The productivity of the agricultural sector in Indonesia is still low due to lack of research and innovation as well as limited adoption of good cultivation practices and minimal use of agricultural technology, Alta added.

The CIPS study found that in general, the cost of producing key foodstuffs in Indonesia is higher than in some countries exporting the same commodity, mainly due to the inefficient production mechanism and distribution system in Indonesia.

Alta said he believes that high production costs can be overcome through sustainable agricultural investments that can encourage modernization and technology transfer.

"Indonesia's food system is still faced with various problems, such as high production costs, inefficient production processes, and long distribution chains, all of which have an impact on prices," he noted.

Clearing new rice fields, especially on peatlands, will take a long time. Besides they may not necessarily help meet the shortage in food stocks. Further, the characteristics of land cleared for agriculture may also not be necessarily suitable for growing food.

In addition, the program to clear land for making rice fields also risks threatening the existing ecosystem and destroying the balance of the environment. (antaranews)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) received a state visit from Palestinian Prime Minister (PM) Mohammad IM Shtayyeh at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, Monday.

PM Shtayyeh, along with a limited delegation, arrived at the Bogor Palace at around 10:30 local time accompanied by Nusantara troops, cavalry, and the musical corps of the Presidential Security Forces (Paspampres).

After being greeted by President Jokowi, the welcoming procession continued with an official welcoming ceremony with the sounding of the national anthems of the two countries and accompanied by the sound of cannons 19 times. After the cannon blast, the two leaders conducted an inspection of the troops of honor.

Jokowi and Shtayyeh  introduced each of the delegates, who attended the ceremony.

The delegation from Indonesia comprised Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan, Head of the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) Penny K. Lukito, and Director General of Asia Pacific and Africa of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abdul Qadir Jaelani.

Jokowi then urged Shtayyeh to take a group photo and sign the state guest book at the Lotus Room, Bogor Palace.

The series of events continued with the joint planting of Meranti Bunga or Shorea leprosula trees by Jokowi and Shtayyeh in the courtyard next to the Bogor Presidential Palace. After planting trees together, the two leaders of the countries headed to the veranda for a brief conversation before holding a bilateral meeting with their respective delegations.

The two leaders also  witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and gave a joint press statement in the Lotus Room. The series of official welcomes ended with a state lunch at the Garuda Room.

Palestine is the only country participating in the 1955 Asian-African Conference ( AAC) that has yet to gain independence due to the Israeli occupation. Bilaterally, Palestine continues to seek recognition from various countries. As of September 14, 2015, some 136 countries from the 193 UN members have recognized Palestine as a state.

The international community continues to push for a peaceful solution between Palestine and Israel based on the principle of a two-state solution, as mandated in various resolutions of the General Assembly  and the UN Security Council.

However, various challenges are getting in the way of the peace process between the two, such as the United States' decision on December 6, 2017, to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and followed by the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018.

Indonesia has consistently voiced the rights of the Palestinian people, including encouraging the establishment of a Palestinian state under the principle of a two-state solution, including in the implementation of the 60th Anniversary of Asian African Conference ( AAC) in April 2015.

In the commemoration, the Declaration on Palestine was agreed to underline the support of Asian and African countries for the Palestinian struggle for independence and efforts to create a two-state solution.

Indonesia also provided assistance in the form of training and capacity building for 1,257 Palestinians in the fields of infrastructure, technology, information, tourism, light manufacturing, and agriculture worth US$1.5 million for Palestinians under the framework of the Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (CEAPAD) as well as assistance of Rp20 billion for construction of the Indonesian Cardiac Center at the As-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. (Antaranews)

President Joko Widodo affirmed that the Indonesian government will continue to support Palestine to become an independent state, including by providing economic and humanitarian assistance.

"In addition to humanitarian assistance, Indonesia provides capacity-building assistance to prepare for Palestine's independence," Jokowi stated at the Bogor Presidential Palace, here, Monday.

The president conveyed this in a joint press statement with Palestinian Prime Minister (PM) Mohammad IM Shtayyeh, who paid a state visit to Indonesia.

Speaking in connection with economic cooperation, Jokowi said that trade between both nations had continued to increase, from January to July 2022, with growth of 21.28 percent recorded as compared to the corresponding period in 2021.

"Indonesia has provided unilateral facilities in the form of exemption from import duties for dates and olives from Palestine to Indonesia. The facilities will be applied for other products from Palestine," he remarked.

The president noted that the facilities were a form of support from Indonesia to Palestine while expressing optimism that the economic cooperation would continue to be improved in future.

"A few days ago, the memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed by the Indonesian government for a new aid grant agreement for Palestine. In addition, Indonesia is in the process of distributing aid to Palestine through UNRWA and ICRC," Jokowi remarked.

UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, while the ICRC is the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"Assistance to Palestine does not only come from the government but also from civil society. Currently, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) is in the process of building an Indonesian hospital in Hebron, Palestine," the head of state noted.

Jokowi remarked that PM Shtayyeh's visit was his first official trip to Indonesia since being appointed as prime minister.

"Indonesia and Palestine are close friends. Palestine was one of the first countries to recognize Indonesia's independence. Indonesia also consistently continues to support the struggle of the Palestinian people," the head of state affirmed.

The international community continues to push for a peaceful solution between Palestine and Israel, which is primarily based on the principle of a two-state solution, as mandated in various resolutions of the General Assembly (MU) and the UN Security Council (DK).

However, various challenges arise to realize peace between the two countries, such as the United States' decision on December 6, 2017, to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and followed by the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, 2018.

Indonesia has consistently voiced the rights of the Palestinian people, including encouraging the establishment of a Palestinian state under the principle of a two-state solution, including in the implementation of the 60th Anniversary of the Bandung Conference/Asia-Africa Conference in April 2015.

During that commemoration, the Declaration on Palestine was agreed to underline the support of Asian and African countries towards the struggle of the Palestinian people to gain independence and efforts to create a two-state solution. (Antaranews)