100 REGENCIES ARE SENSITIVE TO FOOD INSECURITY

The government has arranged a National Food Security Map. Based on government’s analysis as stated in the Map, there were at least 100 regencies sensitive to food insecurity.

Achmad Suryana, Head of Food Security Board of Ministry of Agriculture, in a press conference on Food Security Board Conference, on Thursday (5/20). The National Food Security Board Conference will be held on May 24, 2010 and attended by all regental/municipal and provincial governments and related ministers. The conference will be opened by the President of the Republic of Indonesia.

The Food Security Map 2007-2009 was arranged based on 13 indicators grouped into four large groups, namely food availability, food access, food consumption and sensitivity to food insecurity. From the result of the grouping, there are regencies that have high sensitivity to food insecurity.

Java and Sumatera, in general, has a good food security. Some areas in Sulawesi and Kalimantan also have a sufficiently good food security. But, some other regions are sensitive to food insecurity that they require full attention. These regions are Papua, Maluku, and East Nusa Tenggara. “A small upheaval in those regions will result in food insecurity.”

In the Food Security Map, there are 364 regencies. The government arranged priority so it could be handled based on priority scale. Regions that were designated as first to third priority were the main priority since they have a quite high sensitivity to food insecurity.

The first priority includes 30 regencies, the second includes 30 regencies, and the third 40 regencies. The first priority regions are 11 regencies in Papua, 5 regencies in West Papua, 6 regencies in East Nusa Tenggara, and other regencies in Maluku, North Maluku, West nusa Tenggara, and West Kalimantan.

Many that are in second priority are in West Kalimantan (7 regencies), followed by East Nusa Tenggara (5 regencies), Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (6 regencies), and Papua (3 regencies). And, the third priority includes 6 regencies in Central Kalimantan, 5 regencies in Central Sulawesi, and 4 regencies in West Nusa Tenggara.

At least there are five major problems that caused food insecurity, high rate of underweightedness in children of below 5 years of age, limited road access for four-wheeled vehicles, and limited access to clean water.

But, if compared to the Food Security Map of 2005, in the Food Security Map 2009 there are many regencies the undergo improvement of quality of food security. From 100 regencies in 2005 designated in one to third priority, in 2009 they were already in fourth to sixth priority.

The government expected that the information in the Food Security Map will become the focus of attention of the regional governments in terms of development priority. So, the answer is not always increase of production, but the main problem could be in infrastructure.