Salatiga: City with the Highest Food Security in Central Java

Salatiga City has the best food security index compared to several other cities in Central Java Province.

This is evident from the National Food Agency (Bapanas) report entitled *Food Security and Vulnerability Map 2022 (2021 Indicator Data)*.

Referring to Law No. 18 of 2012, food security is the condition of fulfilling food for the nation down to individuals, reflected in the availability of sufficient food, both in quantity and quality, safe, diverse, nutritious, equitable, and affordable, and not contrary to religion, beliefs, and community culture, to be able to live healthy, active, and productive sustainably.

Bapanas measures the food security index in Indonesian cities based on eight main indicators, namely:

1. Percentage of the population living below the poverty line;
2. Percentage of households with a proportion of food expenditure >65% of total expenditure;
3. Percentage of households without access to electricity;
4. Percentage of households without access to clean water;
5. Life expectancy at birth;
5. Ratio of the number of people per health worker to population density;
6. Average years of schooling for women over 15 years old; and
7. Percentage of toddlers with height below standard (stunting).

These indicators are then processed into a score on a scale of 0-100. The higher the score, the better a city's food security is assumed to be.

Using this method, Salatiga City achieved a score of 87.39 in 2021, the best among the 6 Central Java cities researched by Bapanas.

The food security index of Salatiga City is slightly higher than that of the capital city of Central Java Province, namely Semarang City, which achieved a score of 87.13.

Salatiga City obtained a slightly better index score than Semarang City due to its relatively low stunting rate. In 2021, the prevalence of stunting in Salatiga City was 15.2%, while in Semarang City it was 21.3%.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), stunting is a growth and development disorder in children due to malnutrition, characterized by a child's height being shorter than average for their age.

The high prevalence of stunting indicates suboptimal food utilization, possibly due to lack of access to nutritious food, or lack of public knowledge regarding balanced nutrition fulfillment patterns.

Of the 6 cities in Central Java researched by Bapanas, Pekalongan City had the lowest food security index with a score of 69.66. This score is not optimal, due to the large percentage of Pekalongan City residents who do not have access to clean water, which reached 29.48% in 2021.