Indonesia, Malaysia to Conduct Parallel Food Security Audit
Markus Junianto Sihaloho | September 04, 2012
Indonesia and Malaysia will conduct parallel food security audits next year after a season of harsh weather sent the prices of some Asian staple foods sky high, a member of the Financial Audit Board (BPK) said on Tuesday.
The two countries have already completed joint assessments of their maritime and fishery sectors, BPK member Ali Masykur Musa said.
?We agreed that after the audit on the maritime and fishery sector, next year we will audit food security. Why are we doing it with Malaysia? Because our staple food are the same, rice and cassava,? Ali said after a technical meeting between the two institutions in Mataram, Lombok on Tuesday.
The audit will be held some time next year, he added.
The Indonesian government will conduct an audit of trade policies, food supplies and regulations, Ali said.
A recent soybean shortage lent some gravity to the nation?s food security situation, where many Indonesians rely on a short list of staple foods for sustenance. And when a price spike in soybeans can cause a crisis, imagine what a surge in rice prices would do, Ali said.
?Tofu and tempeh are not yet essential foods,? he said. ?If there was a shortage of rice, which is a staple food, then rice will hold the same position as oil and fuel. Rice is a commodity that is linked to security and war.
?We do not want people to enter into conflict because of disputes over rice. We do not want that in our life, and therefore we will begin to enter that territory next year.?
Ali explained that, unlike some other Southeast Asian countries, the government does not heavily subsidize the price of rice. The rice-growing sector has been liberalized and is now dominated by the private sector, which can lead to price hikes when supplies drop.
?The state should manage the upstream sector, via Bulog,? he said referring the state logistics agency.
He said that at the downstream sector, the agriculture ministry should guarantee food supplies and the state land registry should provide land for planting.
?If 27,000 hectares of productive land is converted for industries, then there should be a move to replace those agricultural lands,? he said.
JAN deputy general Anwari bin Suri said that his institution shared the same view with BKN regarding food security.
However, Malaysia has already conducted an audit of food security and the results is scheduled to be presented to the Malaysian parliament later this year.
?We are ready to share our findings with Indonesia,? Anwari said.
He also said that both countries needed to seek out innovative strategies to assure food prices remain stable.
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