New Technology Solutions for Food

KOMPAS/DEFRI WERDIONO

Local food fills the exhibition booth for the exhibition of processed food products in Malang Regency, East Java, on Thursday (22/8/2019).

The food crisis is one of the world’s growing problems. The threat remains despite declines in food prices. New solutions must be found.

Although Indonesia is still far from being at risk of a food crisis, the country needs to work hard to control the trend of increasing food-commodity imports. Other than the implementation of integrated upstream-downstream policies, business incentives, especially for farmers, breeders and other upstream stakeholders, should be considered to strengthen domestic production.

This idea surfaced in the Independent Economic Discussion on food held by Kompas in Jakarta on Tuesday (13/9/2022). Food security is a priority for the government in order to improve welfare and equity.

The government is also seeking low-interest financing and a loss-selling mechanism to strengthen the function of Bulog.

In the short term, the government strives for the availability of food supply and affordability to control inflation. For rice commodities, the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) has been tasked with preparing 1.2 million tonnes of government rice reserves. The government is also seeking low-interest financing and a loss-selling mechanism to strengthen the function of Bulog.

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These efforts are being carried out amid the food crisis, but the right solution has yet to be found. Land area for food production continues to decline, new generations are losing interest in farming, many irrigation facilities are damaged, farming subsidies are misallocated, food imports continue to grow and so on.

We are still lucky that during the last few years the dry season has been wet, so that food production can still proceed. However, these conditions should not make us complacent.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Residents queue to shop for cheap food at the Pasar Jaya Senen outlet, Central Jakarta, on Monday (7/2/2022).

During the Independent Economic Discussion, several informants argued that to build self-reliance, there needs to be more business incentives. The attractiveness of farming will continue to decline for both old and new generations if farming does not result in profit. Hence, farmers will naturally become enthusiastic once they find out they profit from their work.

With the various issues that have arisen thus far, the technology is already available but has always been hampered by other problems.

The use of technology can also be a breakthrough to solve the various problems listed above. Subsidies for agricultural production facilities must be provided for those who are entitled. Technology makes it possible for all kinds of incentives for farmers to reach the eligible recipients. With the various issues that have arisen thus far, the technology is already available but has always been hampered by other problems.

Additionally, important information concerning agriculture -- such as weather, prices, pests and diseases -- can be disseminated more quickly using technology. The use of technology in the field is also likely to attract a new generation in farming. So far, we have seen that trade in agricultural products has used a lot of technology. We hope that technology can be used more intensively in farming.

(This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia)