PISAgro’s live participation at the JAKARTA FOOD SECURITY SUMMIT-4 2018

As a public and private partnership aiming to assist the Indonesian government in addressing national food security, PISAgro played an active role in the recent Jakarta Food Security Summit (JFSS-4). This bi-annual event was hosted by Indonesia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) on March 8-9, 2018.

Through its 12 working groups, PISAgro collaborates with various partners to support KADIN in the fields of Food and Forestry Agribusiness, Food and Livestock Industry Sector and Marine and Fisheries Affairs.

Opened by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, tOpened by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, this year’s JFSS-4 theme was "Economic equality at the Sectors of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Through Policy and Partnership". The event looked to strengthen coordination of stakeholders’ efforts to accelerate agricultural projects, increase production levels and add value, with the goal to improve the competitiveness of Indonesia’s strategic food commodities and enable the sustainability of food systems.

"By the 100th birthday of the Republic in 2045, our population will reach 360 million. This means that food production needs to continually increase by three percent each year," said Vice President Jusuf Kalla, in the opening speech at the summit.

According to data from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Indonesia lags behind some of its regional peers in terms of agricultural productivity, with the average farm at about 0.6 hectare per farmer.

FAO’s Asia Pacific regional director, Kundhavi Kadiresan said that a territorial perspective to food cultivation is gaining traction worldwide to generate added value, employment and private investment.

"Indonesia's geographic disparity means that we have to focus on spatially centered interventions, because a national policy may not work for different parts of the country," she told the summit.

Other important agenda at the JFSS-4 was Panel Discussions which examined some of the most important issues in agriculture, among others were topics on Land (distribution, certification and clustering), Access to Finance (capital, market, and innovative financing) as well as various supporting factors: Partnership, Institutions, and replanting program for some of Indonesia’s important commodities.

In addition, JFSS-4 also witnessed a MoU signing of Partnership Program for Rural Areas (PRUKADES) between Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration (PDTTT), regional leaders, and companies, witnessed by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Mr. Darmin Nasution and PDTTT minister, Mr. Eko Putro Sandjojo.

Various commodities from the Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries sectors were visualized at the JCC Assembly Hall with the concept of "Past, Present, and Hopes for the Future"; followed by 17 working groups: Rice, Corn, Soybean, Sugar, Horticulture, Rubber, Coffee, Cocoa, Oil Palm, Poultry, Dairy Cow, Beef Cattle, Vocational Education, Fisheries, Partnerships and Financing and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

With various important dialogues taking place at the JFSS-4, PISAgro hopes the momentum will create new initiatives to accelerate the production, added value, and competitiveness in food commodities, ultimately reducing poverty and economic disparity.

This goal in line with PISAgro’s Vision 20-20-20 which looks to integrate sustainable food and agricultural security issues and economic opportunities. We aim to increase the agricultural productivity incomes of Indonesian farmer by 20 percent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent every decade.

By Dewi Kurniawati – Communication Manager, Partnership for Indonesia's Sustainable Agriculture (PISAgro)