food security, safeguardJakarta (ANTARA News) - Vice President Boediono said on Wednesday Indonesia must really safeguard its food needs, arguing food problems are affecting not only the country but the world as well.
"Food will become a persistent issue and therefore, we must really safeguard our food needs," he said in his address to the second plenary session and national congress of the Indonesian Young Businessmen Association (HIPMI) at the Vice Presidential Palace here.
Also present at the meeting were Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi, Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng, Minister for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Businesses Syarifuddin Hasan, National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) Governor Muladi and HIPMI Chairman Erwin Aksa.
Boediono said the global population had been growing at an extraordinary pace reaching an estimated 6.8 billion in 2010 compared to 3.7 billion in the 1970s.
Most of the global population were born and lived in developing countries, he said.
He said global demand for food rose significantly not merely because of growing population but also improving income of people in China, India, Latin America and Africa.
"The condition will lead to an extraordinary rise in food demand. This is both challenge and opportunity for us," he said.
He said food would become an extraordinary sector. It would not merely deal with cultivation and sales but also with a chain of activities to produce processed food.
Indonesia was lucky because it was endowed with abundant water sources, vast land and adequate human resources, he said.
"Right now we cannot likely feel the importance of water. As a source of life, water is important to ensure the continuation of our life," he said.(*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
