"I fully agree that the stunting issue is addressed by our existing food reserves," Amin noted at the meeting with the Indonesian Peasants' Union (SPI) Executive Board members at the Vice Presidential Palace here, Friday.
At the meeting, Amin was accompanied by the Vice Presidential Secretariat Head Ahmad Erani Yustika, Deputy for Human Development Policies Support and Equitable Development Department Suprayoga Hadi, and the vice president's special staff Masduki Baidlowi and Muhammad Imam Aziz.
According to the 2022 Indonesia Nutrient Status Survey, the stunted growth prevalence rate in Indonesia is still at 21.6 percent, and the government is targeting to reduce the stunting rate to 14 percent by 2024.
The government is promoting the consumption of animal protein as the movement, apart from helping to suppress stunting prevalence, could also promote the growth of the national agriculture industry, he affirmed.
Amin also highlighted the importance of food diversification for the food reserves programmes.
Meanwhile, he underscored that the government will continue to oversee the Agrarian Conflict Resolution Acceleration and Agrarian Reform Policy Enhancement Team (TPPPKA-PKRA) performance to ensure its effectiveness in addressing and resolving agrarian issues.
"The government is committed to agrarian reform by redistributing idle land plots. We must not let our productive lands stand idly. Hence, we need measures to redistribute the land through agrarian reform," the vice president remarked.
Amin is also upbeat that SPI would play a role in improving the conditions of peasants in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, SPI Executive Board Head, Henry Saragih, said his side is committed to supporting the government to advance development of the food sector, especially to realize food self-sufficiency.
"Praise be to God, similar to the government's policy, those programmes remain our priority, and we had suggested that food sovereignty and agrarian reform (policies) be implemented in Indonesia," Saragih remarked.
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Translator: Desca Lidya N, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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