"The crisis caused by the pandemic in the past two years, followed by the commodity price fluctuation due to the Ukraine war, have brought fundamental lessons for Indonesia, that is, (on) the importance of food sovereignty, as well as health and energy (sovereignty)," he noted.
At the annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has not been fully resolved and the global economic situation has not been fully restored.
“Then, the war broke out in Ukraine, and food crisis, energy crisis, and financial crisis became inevitable," he added.
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As many as 107 countries have been affected by the pandemic, and some of them are expected to go bankrupt, while 553 million people are facing the threat of extreme poverty. Meanwhile, food shortages and famines are threatening 345 million people globally.
Indonesia’s abundant natural resources have become a strength that can be used to develop the country, Widodo said. However, the natural resources need to be managed in a wise and sustainable manner.
Downstreaming and industrialization must be undertaken to maximize added value for the sake of national interests.
Handoko also emphasized the importance of increasing the added value of local natural wealth to support food and energy sovereignty so that it can support national economic growth.
Local natural wealth-based products must not be sold as raw materials. They need to have added value so that they can be turned into high-quality products that can compete in the export market.
"The government and BRIN have realized the importance of added value for local natural wealth. Not only to meet domestic needs, but also to benefit from the global challenge amidst the crisis. Crisis creates a disaster and, at the same time, it creates new opportunities," Handoko remarked.
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Translator: Martha H Simanjuntak, Sri Hary
Editor: Suharto
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