VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The National Food Agency (NFA) has encouraged stakeholders to enhance market connectivity to support national food resilience, according to the agency;s Head Arief Prasetyo Adi.

"The ecosystem must be properly integrated from the upstream to the downstream phases. This will need support from stakeholders because the existence of the market is essential for the food distribution process from producers to residents as consumers," Adi noted in his statement  here on Monday.

The agency head also encouraged traditional market merchants affiliated with the Indonesian Traditional Market Traders Association (Ikappi) to adopt a cold chain system to prolong the freshness and longevity of their products and commodities.

"Food connectivity is essential to maintain food resilience. Through synergy in our food ecosystem, food will be available anytime and everywhere, consumers can purchase food at a stable price, and farmers and fishermen will be assured regarding the markets of their products," he remarked.

To bolster national food resilience, the National Food Agency is committed to encouraging relevant stakeholders to enhance connectivity from the production, distribution, and consumption phases, particularly during major religious observances, such as during the Ramadan fasting and Eid al-Fitr periods, when the surge in commodity demand is expected, the agency head noted.

"We have readied several schemes and policies to enhance food resilience through bolstering the upstream process and absorbing farmers' products in the downstream process to optimize domestic food absorption to satisfy market demands," Adi stated.

The agency head emphasized that the government should also prepare food stocks that will be connected to the market and the procurement for it could be assisted by state-owned enterprises in the food industry through an assignment to State Logistics Board (Bulog) and state-owned food holding company ID Food as well as cooperation with ministries and institutions.

Meanwhile, Chairperson of Ikappi Abdullah Mansuri stated that the association is ready to collaborate with the National Food Agency in improving food commerce.

"We will improve national food resilience along with the National Food Agency and relevant institutions because we do not want to face issues on food availability every year," Mansuri remarked. (Antaranews)