Enhancing Food Security in Indonesia: The Role of Policy Entrepreneurs in the Promotion of Policy Change

Food insecurity presents a serious development challenge in Kenya. It is estimated that 11 million Kenyans suffer from acute hunger caused by food insecurity at the household and community levels. Nyando basin in Western Kenya experinces acute food insecurity caused in part by by perennial floods within the basin, extreme household poverty and high disease burden. There is consensus among food security scholars and policy advisors that communities must be placed at the center of sustainable food security policy and interventions. Kenya’s National Food and Nutrition Security Policy places communities at the center of food security; further providing impetus for the design and implementation of sustainable sustainable community food security projects. The success of sustainable sustainable community food security projects may depend on the involvement of stakeholders in sustainable community food systems.However, few studies have examined the relationship between stakeholder involvement and implementation of sustainable sustainable community food security projects. This study was conducted in the Nyando basin in three community projects involved in highbrid cassava, sorghum and sweet potatoes farming. Two hundred and forty-five stakeholders involved in sustainable community food security projects in Nyando basin were interviewed using a questionnaire. Respondents included community farmers drawn from three food community self-help groups, county government officials, agricultural extension officers, managers of community based and non-governmental organizations involved in cassava, sorghum and sweet potato farming within the basin. Descriptive and inferential data were analysed. Descriptive data included frequencies, means and standard deviation. Inferential statistics included correlation coefficient, coefficient of determination, ANOVA and regression coefficient. The study found statistically significant relationship between stakeholder involvement and implementation of sustiable sustainable community food security projects. It is recommded that stakeholder involvement should be enhanced in sustainable community food security projects to promote timely implementation and completion of sustiable sustainable community food security projects, reduce the cost of implementation, ensure sustainable farming practices. It is also recommended that stakeholder involvement should be integrated in sustainable community food security policies and projects.

Food security is a global issue that is increasingly urgent to be resolved along with world population growth, urbanization, and climate change. Norway, as a developed country with an efficient and innovative agricultural system, has become an exemplary example of achieving food security. On the other hand, Indonesia still faces many challenges in achieving optimal food security. In this context, this research reviews strategies for achieving food security in Indonesia and the implementation of Norway's food security policy. The literature study method was used to collect relevant information, and the results showed that the third strategy, which focuses on "ends," is the key to increasing food security. This strategy includes increasing national food independence, developing inclusive food supply chains, and increasing resilience to climate change and natural disasters. By considering strategies that have proven effective in Norway, Indonesia can identify concrete steps to increase food security in a sustainable manner.

Inclusive diets within planetary boundaries

Background: Indonesia is experiencing a significant conversion of agricultural land. Along with increasing development activities, economic growth, and population expansion, the demand for land has risen sharply. Meanwhile, land availability remains essentially unchanged. This discrepancy has led to various conflicts of interest, ultimately resulting in the widespread conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses. Climate change and the demographic transition within the agricultural sector also pose new challenges to achieving food security. This policy paper examines Indonesia’s food security policy strategies, with a particular focus on the sustainability of the national food system. Methods: The approach used in the preparation of this policy paper is qualitative with a literature review as its primary method. Findings: The findings includes an analysis of the existing conditions, the challenges faced, and strategic policy recommendations to achieve sustainable food security. Conclusion: Indonesia has made progress in food and nutrition security, yet it continues to face challenges such as climate change, demographic transitions, and urbanization. To address these issues, transformative strategies are needed, including sustainable agriculture, youth empowerment, and the development of technology-based urban farming systems. Novelty/Originality of this article: This policy paper presents a novel integrative approach by combining climate adaptation, youth empowerment, and urban agriculture as a unified strategy to achieve sustainable food security in Indonesia. It distinguishes itself by using a system thinking framework to analyze food security challenges and formulate cross-sectoral policy recommendations that address environmental, demographic, and urbanization pressures simultaneously.

Background: Food security is a major concern in Indonesia’s economy, influenced by agricultural productivity, food prices, and population growth. Instability in food supply and price fluctuations threaten national food security. An Islamic economic perspective offers additional insights, emphasizing justice and equitable food distribution.Aims: This study aims to analyze the impact of agricultural productivity, food prices (especially rice), and population size on Indonesia’s food security from 2013 to 2022, using an Islamic economic framework to generate policy recommendations for sustainable food security.Methods: A quantitative approach is used with time-series data from BPS and related sources. The study employs the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) to examine both short- and long-term dynamics among the variables: agricultural productivity, rice prices, population size, and the food security index.Results: In the short term, agricultural productivity negatively affects food security due to yield instability. Higher rice prices positively impact food security by encouraging local production and competitiveness. Population growth, however, reduces food security by increasing demand. In the long term, both agricultural productivity and rice prices negatively affect food security, while population size shows a positive impact, possibly due to labor supply and market expansion. Conclusion: The study concludes that agricultural productivity, food prices, and population size influence food security in Indonesia differently in the short and long term. From an Islamic economic perspective, sustainable food security can be achieved through equitable welfare and fair distribution of food. Policies that promote increased agricultural productivity, food price stabilization, and sustainable population management are essential to ensuring sufficient food availability for all sectors of society. Therefore, the government must formulate policies that are more adaptive to demographic and economic changes to maintain Indonesia's food security.

Indonesia faces the issue of meeting the escalating food demand caused by population growth. Intercropping rice in oil palm has emerged as a promising strategy to address food production and security challenges in Indonesia. This study thoroughly explores and evaluates the potential of innovative intercropping technology, which involves integrating rice farming into oil palm and industrial forest plantations in Indonesia. The study employed a systematic literature review (SLR) methodology, adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow guidelines, focusing on the keywords "intercropping technology," "rice," and "oil palm Indonesia”. Using search engines in ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. From the earlier search, 1826 articles were generated, and after selection, 10 articles meeting the criteria were obtained. Out of 48 million hectares of oil palm plantations, approximately 2.4 million hectares (immature) can be utilized for intercropping with rice and capable of producing 4-5 tons per hectare. In brief, this additional rice crop production constitutes roughly a 20-25% augmentation to the national rice output. These findings highlight the significant role of rice intercropping with oil palm in increasing rice production and enhancing food security in Indonesia. Intensive research is crucial to develop innovative technologies capable of boosting both crop productivity and soil fertility, thereby supporting the increase in food production and oil palm productivity.

<p>This research is motivated by the mismatch between potential and real conditions in Indonesia, resulting in food security problems. As an archipelagic, maritime, tropical, and agricultural country, Indonesia has abundant natural resource potential. Indonesia is one of the largest rice-producing countries in the world. However, Indonesia's food security condition is still low. It is proven by Indonesia's food security index, which is still below the global and Asia-Pacific averages. This research aims to analyze the influence of Rice Production, Poverty, and Prevalence of undernourishment variables on food security in Indonesia. This type of research is descriptive quantitative, using secondary data in the form of panel data for 2018-2022. The analytical method used in this research is panel data regression analysis. The results of this research show that the variables of rice production, poverty, and prevalence of undernourishment (PoU) together significantly affect food security in Indonesia. Partially, the rice production variable has a positive and insignificant effect on food security in Indonesia. The poverty variable negatively and significantly affects food security in Indonesia. The prevalence of the undernourishment variable has a positive and significant effect on food security in Indonesia.</p>

Food is an essential human need and its fulfilment is part of human rights guaranteed by the constitution so that it has a strategic place in national development. However, if domestic food sources cannot meet national needs, then food imports can be carried out. Cattle and beef imports are carried out by Indonesia in order to meet Indonesia's food security policy. This study aims to describe and analyze how Indonesia's food safety policy in importing cattle and beef from Australia in 2013-2017. The research method used is a qualitative method with the type of descriptive research that aims to describe in detail and accurately and to deepen the meaning of research related to Indonesia's food security policy in Australian beef and beef imports. Data collection techniques with observation, in-depth interviews, and study documentation. The results show that Indonesia's policy to import Australian cows and beef is a liberal economic model, where the main role of imports is importing entrepreneurs, while the government as an import regulator has an interest in ensuring the fulfilment of three aspects of food security, namely food availability; affordability of food access; and affordability of prices; As for the other causes, Indonesia imports cows and beef from Australia due to political reasons.

This discussion explores the opportunities and challenges in enhancing food production and security in the context of climatic variability in Sub Saharan Africa. The promotion of sustainable use of plant and animal products with emphasis on satisfying basic human needs, improving people’s standard of living, enhancing food security and reducing poverty have taken a center stage in Sub Saharan Africa. However, the efforts in this direction are being impacted negatively by climate change, through animal and crop production which have not been spared due to the natural disasters and environmental challenges which have affected all regions of Sub Saharan Africa indiscriminately. Climate is a particularly important driver of food production systems performance at the agriculture end of the food chain. It can affect the quantities and types of food produced as well as production-related income especially for the poor resource farmers. In order to be able to adequately address food production and security in the context of climate, there is need for the region to carry out thorough climatic vulnerability and adaptation assessments. Supporting research and training of experts to carry out vulnerability and adaptation assessments on crop and livestock production is crucial in order for respective countries to develop climate change adaptation measures to meet the obligation on food production and security. Sub Saharan Africa’s agro-ecological regions are variable and need to develop specific adaptive measures to reduce vulnerability to climate change. Due to the changing climatic conditions which the continent has already witnessed many severe climatic induced vulnerability such as decline in rainfall amounts and intensity, reduced length of rain season and increasing warm and occasionally very hot conditions has affected food production and security. Crop and livestock production systems will need to adapt to higher ambient temperatures, lower nutritional value of feed resources and new diseases and parasites occurrence. It can be seen that the present crop and livestock production systems based on pastoral or rangeland grazing husbandry systems, ecological destruction through climatic variability and overgrazing due to high stocking rates in areas where feed and water has been compromised due to high temperatures caused by climate change does not augur well for future livestock productivity. The understanding of climate change variables and their impacts is the first step in climate change research and prerequisite for defining appropriate adaptive responses by local crop and livestock farmers. Sustainable crop and livestock production supporting rural development should be compatible with the goals of curbing the effects of climate change. Production priorities should be directed towards promoting local crop and livestock genetic resources by providing comprehensive research support services on the impact of climate change. Both crops and livestock play important roles in farming systems, as they offer opportunities for risk coping, farm diversification and intensification, and provide significant livelihood benefits and food security. The discussion therefore, concludes that the effectiveness of biophysical responses of crop and livestock production systems to specific environmental challenges that are anticipated as a result of climate change, and then the range of adaptive measures that might be taken by local producers to ameliorate their effects will be the prerequisite for defining appropriate societal responses and meet food security targets.

Climate change affects food security because it causes a shift in the rainy or dry season, which greatly affects the pattern and timing of planting food crops. A decrease in agricultural production will trigger an increase in food prices, which in turn will lead to a decrease in household food purchasing power. Bulog, in this case as the party appointed by the government to carry out activities to maintain the Basic Purchase Price for grain, stabilize prices, especially basic prices, distribute rice for social assistance (Bansos) and manage food stocks, has several strategies to overcome this problem. This study aims to identify the impact of climate change on Indonesia's food security strategy undertaken by Bulog in 2023. The research methodology is based on secondary data that includes a literature review of, articles, e-books, open access e-journals, and previous research. The results showed the influence of climate change on the strategy of Bulog in maintaining food security despite declining production by 1) encouraging subsidiaries by Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN) to increase domestic rice production, 2) building 10 rice milling centers, 7 rice processing centers to its logistics, 3) Distribution of rice assistance of 10 kg per month for low-income groups Program, 4) Stabilization of Food Price Supply (Stabilisasi Pasokan Harga Pangan), which supplies more than 1 million tons of rice at a lower price than the market price. The implication of this research is the importance of strategies to increase domestic food production, strengthen food distribution infrastructure, and pay attention to low-income groups in food assistance programs to overcome the impact of climate change on Indonesia's future food security.

Local functional foods have emerged as a critical yet underutilized resource for enhancing food security in developing countries. This narrative review explores the role and potential of Indonesian local functional foods particularly Moringa oleifera, Amorphophallus konjac, and Metroxylon sagu in addressing key nutritional and systemic challenges within national food systems. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across major databases using targeted keywords and inclusion criteria focusing on food security, biodiversity, nutrition, and sustainable systems. The review synthesizes evidence on the nutritional profiles, ecological adaptability, health benefits, accessibility, and institutional challenges associated with these foods. Findings indicate that these crops are rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds, demonstrate resilience to climate change, and are culturally integrated within local food practices. However, their full potential is constrained by weak policy frameworks, fragmented institutional support, and limited consumer awareness. Comparative analyses with countries such as India, Brazil, and West African nations reveal effective models of integrating functional foods into public nutrition and procurement policies. This review recommends cross sectoral policy integration, investment in infrastructure, and public education to promote local food systems. It also calls for further research on the socio economic impacts of functional food integration in vulnerable regions. Local functional foods represent a strategic avenue for achieving sustainable and inclusive food security in Indonesia.

The report of 2021 hunger map of the World Food Program of the United Nations (WFP) shows that even though Southeast Asia has fertile land and is surrounded by maritime wealth, however many ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries still has a number of poverty and inability to access food and nutrition. ASEAN through the AIFS (ASEAN Integrated Food Security) Framework encourages ASEAN countries try to achieve ASEAN regional food security. This study will examine the role of ASEAN through AIFS (ASEAN Integrated Food Security) in achieving Indonesia’s food security. This research used qualitative method, and the collecting data used primary data collection conducted through interviews with related parties, and secondary data through literatures review related to the role of ASEAN through ASEAN Integrated Food Security Framework or other food security policies. The theory of international organization role is used to answer the research question. This research found that ASEAN through AIFS framework plays role as an arena rather than instrument and independent actor in achieving food security in Indonesia.

Indonesia’s national food security is still in an unstable condition. Indonesia is currently a food-importing country. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to describe the six pillars of global food security in Indonesia. To achieve the objectives of this study, a systematic literature review method was used. The data used were 254 scientific articles sourced from the Scopus database. To review the articles, the Vosviewer application was used. The results of the study reveal that food availability, food access, food utilization, food stability, food agency, and food sustainability are the six main pillars that must exist in every country to support their food security. This research contributes to two main things. First, the description of the six pillars of food security contributes to the development of the roadmap of Food Security. Second, the description of the six pillars of food security acts as the direction of Indonesia’s food policy. However, in this study, the articles used were only sourced from the Scopus and Mendeley databases, so the findings of this study have not comprehensively described the issue of the six pillars of global food security in Indonesia. Future research needs to use scientific articles sourced from other reputable international databases, such as the Web of Science and Pilaronds Scholars.

Employing Grey Relation Analysis (GRA) and Leximetrics, this study conducts a comparative analysis of sustainable food governance performance in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries (OIC). It assesses the alignment of their food security policies with sustainable development principles. Addressing a gap in the existing literature, the study aims to assess two separate components of food security governance, i.e., policy formulation and policy implementation. This is achieved by focusing on critical intrinsic factors like sustainable agriculture, sufficiency, resilience, and inclusivity, and sustainable finance which are often overlooked in policy formulation and evaluation. The findings reveal inadequate incorporation of sustainable finance, sustainable agriculture, circular food systems, and effective governance principles. Several countries lack concise policies (e.g., Iran, Turkmenistan, Suriname), relying on fragmented approaches, while others adopt regional food security strategies with observed differences in food governance versus policy alignment performance. The study enhances our understanding of food security governance and policy formulation and implementation, offering insights for advancing sustainability in the food security policies of the OIC.

Food security in Indonesia is still experiencing problems, especially in the West Java region, starting from the problem of food availability and the ability of the community to meet food needs. The goal of food security is access for every household or individual to obtain food for the purposes of a healthy life with requirements for receiving food in accordance with prevailing values or culture by taking into account socio-economic conditions, access and availability of food. This study describes the condition of food security in the West Java Region as an implementation of food security policies issued by the Regional Government of West Java. This study uses a qualitative method. The data collected is sourced from primary and secondary data. The primary data comes from interviews with informants, including the heads of farmer groups, millers, rice and grain marketers and related agencies at the provincial level of West Java. Secondary data is sourced from the West Java Province Agriculture and Food Crops Office, the West Java Provincial Food Security Agency, and the West Java Regional Division of Bulog (Divre). The results of the study show that the food security policy of the West Java regional government in realizing food security has not made any significant changes to the yields of food crops obtained in West Java, even though the Regional Regulation of West Java Province No. 4 of 2012 concerning Regional Food Independence and other policies has been enacted in terms of food policy.