Social cash assistance for food security during a disaster: lesson learned from Indonesia

Abstract

There was a change in the environment and food security threat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many countries, including Indonesia, are forced to allocate funds to reduce the risk of this disaster. The Government Republic of Indonesia, through the Ministry of Social Affairs, has launched a Social Cash Assistance Program for 10 million families affected by COVID-19. This study aims to identify how families affected by COVID-19 take advantage of this social cash assistance. The study was conducted on the beneficiaries of social assistance, in cash transfer of IDR 600,000 (USD 40), per month, for three months. This study involved 2290 beneficiaries as respondents spread across 12 provinces. The sampling technique was the Cohen Manion Morrison Table by proportional stratified random sampling. The findings show that (1) 99% of cash assistance is used for basic needs, especially for food, and (2) cash assistance could be used for basic needs for around two to three weeks, thereby strengthening food security. Recommendations are submitted based on the results of this study related to social cash assistance and food security. The first is that this assistance still needs to be continued until the COVID-19 pandemic is over. It is to help families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic meet their daily needs. Second, most respondents do not have a fixed income during the pandemic, so providing capital and business startups are needed to increase family income sustainably to maintain food security.