Jokowi Asks Food Sector Development To Use Innovative Methods

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that currently many countries in the world see the importance of developing the food sector. Not only to respond to the possibility of a food crisis due to a pandemic, but according to him, also because food needs are in line with increasing population throughout the world.

He said, almost half of the world's population are in the Asian region. Included in the three largest countries, namely China, India and Indonesia.

"This situation opens up promising opportunities for the food sector. The need is enormous, the market is huge, and it will continue to grow," he said, at the Jakarta Food Security Summit 5, Wednesday, November 18.

However, said Jokowi, to take this opportunity, it is necessary to develop the food sector in new, innovative ways. So that it can increase the efficiency of the production process, increase quality food at affordable prices, improve the carrying capacity of the environment, and increase the welfare of farmers.

"We must jump in new ways, with a larger scale of production with the central role of farmer corporations. Prioritizing added value at the on-farm and off-farm stages, and based on modern technology that is more efficient and more productive," he said.

According to him, these innovative methods provide better welfare for farmers and their supporting sectors.

Currently, the government is also focusing on developing food barns or known as food estates in a number of regions in Indonesia. Among them are in Central Kalimantan and North Sumatra. The goal is to encourage Indonesia to become one of the world's food stores.

Jokowi hopes that entrepreneurs who are members of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be part of the new innovative ways. The Indonesian Kadin initiative in the form of an Inclusive Closed Loop (ICL) scheme needs to continue to be developed, especially in developing partnerships between stakeholders who need each other from upstream to downstream.

"I support various collaborative initiatives involving farmers, cooperatives, banking, and also offtakers, several collaborative initiatives such as horticulture in Garut and the palm oil industry in various regions that need to be continuously updated so that farmers' productivity and added value will increase," he said.

Furthermore, he requested, the ICL scheme needs to be replicated in other areas to strengthen productive collaborative initiatives in the food sector. The president asked Kadin to provide assistance to 1 million independent farmers.

"I heard that in early 2020 it has been done, I am waiting for a commitment to assist 2 million independent smallholders in 2023, I am sure that Kadin will be able to achieve that target," he said.