Facing Weather Anomalies, Badanas Boss Urges Local Government To Strengthen Food Supply

The National Food Agency (Bapanas) reminded all local governments (Pemda) to strengthen food stock reserves in order to anticipate potential disturbances due to weather anomalies.

Head of Badanas Arief Prasetyo Adi emphasized that extreme weather changes often affect the smooth distribution of food, especially sea transportation.

"Because the weather is like this, usually when it comes to sea transportation there are indeed a few obstacles. So yesterday we wanted to cross Bakauheni-Merak, that's an example, yes, it's high waves, so we delayed it," said Arief quoting Antara.

According to him, high wave conditions in several parts of the Indonesian sea can cause delays in sending food logistics between regions.

Therefore, local governments are expected to have strategic local government food reserves (CPPD) to overcome urgent needs when distribution is disrupted.

He emphasized that having CPPD will also form national food security which is getting stronger. The procedures for calculating the amount of CPPD in the form of rice have been regulated in the Regulation of the National Food Agency (Perbadan) Number 15 of 2023.

"So it needs to be conveyed to the wider community and all local governments, we must have food reserves, local governments must have food reserves," he said.

Arief gave an example of areas that already have CPPD, namely DKI Jakarta. This is because DKI Jakarta has managed food reserves through regional-owned enterprises (BUMD) such as Food Station and Dharma Jaya.

Food Station plays a role in maintaining rice stocks, while Dharma Jaya manages meat, poultry and fish stocks for the needs of the community.

Then traditional markets in Jakarta such as Pasar Jaya Kebayoran Lama have also been equipped with a refrigerator facility to maintain the quality of food products.

The refrigerator functions to extend the shelf life of foodstuffs so that stock can be managed more efficiently and sustainably.

"In some Pasar Jaya also already has cold storage, this is important to maintain quality," said Arief.

In addition, he appealed to local governments to ensure that food distribution patterns are carried out with an adequate reserve concept to prevent scarcity. Food reserves not only prioritize availability, but also maintain price stability in the market.

"So the stock can't come once it runs out, once it comes it runs out, it can't. We have to have food buffers, how long do we keep it together," explained Arief.

According to him, Indonesia is known to have a relatively low level of food reserves, so it needs to increase gradually.

The effort includes a new approach that does not only rely on direct harvest for sale. But how to prepare food reserves, especially in the face of weather changes.

He added that by increasing the national food security index, it is hoped that Indonesia can face better climate challenges. Higher food security will support price stability and ensure supply for the entire community.

"We must have higher food security. So once food security is higher, prices are stable, so that later the overall national total food security index will increase," said Arief.