By : Aldia Putra )*
Indonesia’s food security is recognized by the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) and IRRI (International Rice Research Institute). The community appreciates that this country’s food security has received recognition from international organizations under the auspices of the United Nations.
Indonesia used to be known as an agrarian country and although it is now the era of information technology, the agricultural sector has not been forgotten. Agrarian matters remains important because the government wants to be independent and consume rice produced by itself. There is indeed rice from Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan, but the Indonesian people prefer to eat rice whose rice is grown in their own country.
By being independent in producing rice and other agricultural products, the government will further strengthen food security. The government’s mission was successful because President Jokowi received an award from FAO, an international agency under the United Nations. The award was also from IRRI as an international rice institute and was given directly by the Director of IRRI, Jean Balie, on August 14, 2022 at the State Palace.
With the award from FAO, there is an acknowledgment of the resilience system in Indonesia, which is still resilient in the midst of the food crisis. A food crisis is a condition in which the stability and availability of food is insufficient and eventually malnutrition occurs. This is very dangerous because it can damage the future of children and young people, because they suffer from malnutrition.
To overcome the food crisis, the government annually allocates funds of up to tens of billions. Finally the government succeeded and made Indonesia’s food security recognized by FAO. Also praised by Jean Balie, who stated that Indonesia can survive and enforce food security during the pandemic. Indonesia can be self-sufficient in rice even in the midst of a pandemic and has succeeded in increasing productivity.
The pandemic has changed life and happened not only in Indonesia, but also in the world. During the pandemic, the economic sector collapsed and affected the agrarian sector. However, the government immediately resolved it and there was no food crisis due to the pandemic. After the struggle, Indonesia can be self-sufficient in rice.
Indonesia is declared self-sufficient in rice because it meets more than 20% of the people’s needs. Don’t look at the numbers that look small, but also look at the state of the Indonesian people. In Eastern Indonesia, on average, they do not consume rice but sago and tubers.
Rice self-sufficiency shows that the government has succeeded in meeting the needs of the people. In fact, Indonesian citizens prefer rice from Solok or Cianjur, rather than Japanese rice. The tongue of the Indonesian people is more to local tastes even though there are many imported rice in supermarkets with various advantages and prices.
Awards from FAO and IRRI show that President Jokowi’s government has succeeded in being self-sufficient in rice. People remember that during the New Order era, former President (late) Suharto received an award for succeeding in being self-sufficient in rice. This achievement has made Indonesia praised, even though it is a developing country. When there is self-sufficiency again, the people cheer President Jokowi.
Why are awards from FAO and IRRI so valuable? The reason is because Indonesia has succeeded in overcoming the problem of food security in the midst of a heated world geopolitical condition. The conflict in Eastern Europe created food turmoil in the world but Indonesia managed to survive.
Conditions in Eastern Europe made the supply of wheat to be reduced and the government made instant noodles and other foods made from wheat, from sorghum. With this substitution, the world’s geopolitical conditions will not have much effect. The government is trying to make the people still have high food security and can survive during the pandemic.
Then, rice self-sufficiency occurs because of the results of the millennial farmer program. President Jokowi’s government wants to maintain Indonesia’s position as a strong agrarian country. With the millennial farmer program, young people are educated to become farmers who are not only tough, but also use intelligence and technology so that their harvests are good.
Young people who are trained in the millennial farmer program understand what the impact of globalization is, which causes a shift in the start and end time of the season in Indonesia. With this knowledge, they can start to plant rice with an accurate date. Finally the harvest was successful because when the rice was ready to be harvested, there was no severe drought or heavy rain, because using weather science and other supporting sciences.
The government is also aggressively creating new rice fields that are opened outside Java. Java is already too densely populated, so look elsewhere. To plant rice, it is adjusted to the type of soil and selected superior quality seeds, so that the results are abundant and satisfying.
Indonesia’s rice self-sufficiency and food security received awards from FAO and IRRI. With this award, it proves that President Jokowi’s strategy is to
