Coordinator for food at the ministry's Directorate of Food and Agriculture, Ifan Martino, said here on Thursday that the ministry has a monitoring and evaluation system in place to ensure the program utilizes local produce, including local foods.
He noted that to increase the production and strength of local foods, the government has also issued Law Number 59 of 2024 concerning the 2024–2045 National Long-Term Development Plan (RPJPN).
"It covers transformation for strengthening local food based on potentials in regions," he said.
For the provision of free nutritious meals, the ministry is also creating a food redistribution design to reduce food waste.
Martino pointed out that based on Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data, each person in Indonesia wastes around 115–184 kilograms of food per year.
"If converted into the number of people, almost half of the Indonesian population could actually get decent food from the leftover food that is thrown away," he said.
Therefore, he added, it is important to increase food security to boost economic productivity, including by increasing the productivity of the agricultural sector as well as food and ecological security.
He also underscored the importance of ensuring the fulfillment of the basic right to food, strengthening farmer institutions in production centers, as well as diversifying food production and consumption.
"For food sovereignty and improving the quality of free nutritious meals, the key is indeed in empowering local food, including aquatic foods, in addition to maintaining nutritional sources and strengthening food system governance," he said.
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Translator: Lintang Budiyanti, Raka Adji
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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