At the meeting, Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi said that Indonesia is chairing the two-day international meeting.
"We will be discussing a lot of food-related issues in two days, including the food crisis, El Nino, and the question on how to properly prepare food reserves in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, in particular.” he said.
The meeting underlined the crucial issues raised by President Joko Widodo regarding the threats of food shortages and starvation across the globe as the results of climate change, he said.
Adi also highlighted the raging war between Ukraine and Russia that exacerbates problems in the agriculture sector.
"As stated by Mr. President, we are not in a safe condition. We must stay alert to prepare to face all of this," he stressed.
According to Adi, the meeting will result in updates of information on the current issues concerning the ASEAN countries' needs, so that they can find solutions to address their problems by taking intergovernmental measures.
"For instance, Malaysian delegates will convey what their country needs. Later, Indonesia will do the same. Then, we will determine which and how much food resource we should reserve, such as rice, for instance,” he noted.
He also affirmed that the government had formulated plans to reserve a number of food products, especially basic foods, such as rice, in the event of certain unwanted conditions.
This year, Indonesia holds the ASEAN chairmanship, and it has adopted the theme of "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth'' that reflects its focus in the efforts to retain the bloc's position as an economic growth center.
President Joko Widodo, while opening the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara in May, emphasized that ASEAN needs to further strengthen its economic integration.
The president also expressed hope that the regional bloc will intensify its comprehensive cooperation and toughen the health, food, energy, and financial stability architectures.
Currently, ASEAN consists of 10 full members, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
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Translator: M Fikri Setiawan, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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