Economist: G20 Countries Need To Agree To Implement Food Commodity Protection

JAKARTA - Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) Director Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara said G20 member countries need to agree not to implement food commodity protection policies to prevent the global food crisis from getting worse.

"G20 countries need to agree not to do food protectionism and open themselves to food cooperation, especially with poor countries," said Bhima, quoted from Antara, Wednesday, June 29.

According to him, there are several causes of the current global food crisis, including supply chain disruption due to the war in Ukraine, trade protectionism in food-producing countries, extreme weather, and increased consumption after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The G20 countries also need to immediately realize funding for increasing food production by providing fertilizer subsidies, assisting farmers, and keeping the selling price of harvests stable, as well as increasing loan distribution to the agricultural sector, especially farmers with land areas under 2 hectares," he said. .

President Jokowi at the G7 Summit (KTT) called for the G7 and G20 countries to jointly overcome the food crisis that threatens 323 million people, especially in developing countries.

According to Bhima, through the G20 Presidency, Indonesia can negotiate with President Putin so that the grain route from Ukraine can continue to run normally.

"Then, as much as possible through an economic lobby approach, we are convinced to Russia that continuing military escalation will only have a bad impact on global economic recovery, increasing poverty and stagflation. The food crisis can harm Indonesia and Russia as well as the G20 countries," he said.

Indonesia with a free and active policy has a strategic position because it is not a country that is directly involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, so it is hoped that it can reduce the conflict between the two countries, even if temporarily.

"If President Jokowi's mission is successful, Indonesia's name will be fragrant in the eyes of the world and increase trust for investors and business actors because Indonesia is considered pro to maintaining political stability both at home and abroad," he said.