Every year, the Indonesian government prepares a food security budget to increase the productivity of major food commodities, both agricultural and fisheries.
The food security budget is also used to provide assistance in infrastructure, such as seeds, fertilizers, irrigation, mentoring, and price stabilization.
However, in 2022, the government cut the food security budget, making it smaller than the previous year.
In the 2022 State Budget (APBN), the allocation of funds for national food security was set at Rp92.2 trillion.
This figure is almost Rp7 trillion less, or a decrease of 6.86%, compared to the previous year's allocation of Rp99.02 trillion.
In detail, the 2022 national food security budget from Ministry/Agency spending was Rp36.6 trillion.
Then, Rp33.38 trillion came from non-Ministry/Agency spending, while Rp21.9 trillion came from Regional Transfer and Village Funds (TKDD).
Global Food Market in Turmoil
Before the budget cuts, in 2021, Indonesia's food security was weakening.
This is reflected in the decline of Indonesia's Global Food Security Index (GFSI) score, which weakened from 61.4 in 2020 to 59.2 in 2021.
The reduction in Indonesia's food security budget in 2022 also coincided with a turbulent global food market situation.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in March 2022, the global food price index surged 33.6% (yoy) to 159.3, reaching its highest level since 1990.
The increase in global food commodity prices has also driven high inflation in several countries. One of them is the United States, which experienced an 8.8% (yoy) increase in food prices in March 2022.
Nevertheless, amidst this turmoil, Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi claimed that the supply and prices of basic goods in Indonesia are still monitored as safe.
"We will monitor and ensure the price and supply of basic goods, so that the public can celebrate Eid al-Fitr devoutly and comfortably," said Lutfi, as reported by Katadata.co.id, Tuesday (19/4).