Top 10 Regencies in North Sumatra with the Highest Food Security

Based on data from the National Food Agency (Bapanas), Deli Serdang Regency has the highest food security compared to dozens of other regencies in North Sumatra Province.

According to Law No. 18 of 2012, food security is the condition of sufficient food availability 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 the religion, beliefs, and culture of the community, to enable a healthy, active, and productive life sustainably.

Bapanas measures the food security index in Indonesian regencies based on nine main indicators, namely:

1. *Normative Consumption Production Ratio* (NCPR) or the ratio of normative per capita consumption to net production of rice, corn, sweet potatoes, and cassava, as well as regional government rice stocks;
2. Percentage of the population living below the poverty line;
3. Percentage of households with food expenditure >65% of total expenditure;
4. Percentage of households without access to electricity;
5. Percentage of households without access to clean water;
6. Life expectancy at birth;
7. Ratio of the number of people per health worker to population density;
8. Average years of schooling for women over 15 years old; and
9. Percentage of underweight children (stunting).

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

Using this method, Deli Serdang Regency achieved a score of 87.15 in 2021, the highest among the 25 North Sumatran regencies researched by Bapanas.

Deli Serdang Regency achieved a high score due to various factors, one of which is the relatively small proportion of its poor population compared to neighboring regencies.

In 2021, the percentage of Deli Serdang's population living below the poverty line was only 4.01%, while in other North Sumatran regencies it ranged from 5% to 26%.

Deli Serdang Regency's food security is also supported by its very good distribution of clean water.

In 2021, the percentage of households without access to clean water in Deli Serdang reached 14.7%, while in neighboring regencies it ranged from 25% to 80%.