Budi Waseso: Despite The COVID-19 Pandemic, Indonesia Is Impossible For A Food Crisis

President Director of Bulog Budi Waseso. (Photo by: Bulog)

JAKARTA - The World Food Organization (FAO) predicts that drought will hit countries in the world, including Indonesia. This will cause a food crisis in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Perum Bulog is optimistic that Indonesia will not become one of the countries experiencing a food crisis.

Director of Perum Bulog Budi Waseso (Buwas) said that Indonesia's current food security is still quite good, especially for rice. This is due to the support of friendly weather, so that several regions in the country are ready to enter the second harvest season.

"For Indonesia, I don't think we need to worry. The weather in our country is also not as extreme as predictions outside Indonesia. Actually, our predictions are no longer harvested, it turns out that today there are still a lot of harvests in some areas of our country. In several regions in Indonesia. Today we also start planting the next one, so there will be more harvests. Our food strength is still stable, "he said, during the IDX Channel program, Tuesday, July 14.

Even so, Bulog remains prepared for the worst. For example, through the absorption of unhulled rice in order to anticipate the rice shortage which usually starts every September.

"We have also prepared for the worst. Grain has also been prepared. But I am sure that with calculations, our weather is not as extreme as in other countries," he explained.

Not only that, Buwas also believes that the rice supply is safe, because it reflects data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) and the Ministry of Agriculture.

"To this day, both in the market and especially in Bulog, this is still very strong. Because we still have 142 million tons in Bulog warehouses and scattered throughout the village, including in markets," he said.

The former head of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) also stated that the food consumption of the Indonesian people is not only rice. He highlighted that the availability of sago in Papua is abundant, although now its position is starting to be replaced by the need for rice consumption.

"If we want to produce well, there are 450 million tons per year of sago production. This is also a strength because of our food consumption. That is 36 million tons per year for consumption of the Indonesian people," he said.