Fajarasia.co – Chairman of the Indonesian Farmers Harmony Association (HKTI) Fadli Zon reminded the need for innovation in the agricultural sector on a large scale in order to face the potential food crisis which is predicted to occur due to the impact of global events.
“We must immediately make massive innovations in agriculture. Otherwise, we will not be able to face the dynamics of global change that threatens this,” said Fadli Zon in a written statement in Jakarta, Sunday (26/6/2022).
According to Fadli, farmers in various regions should not be allowed to live with “surrendering technology” as has been going on so far.
Farmers, according to him, cannot make changes or innovations alone, so the government must intervene very big to produce these new innovations.
Fadli is of the opinion that the national food policy in the future should no longer be able to use the firefighter’s approach, namely if there is a price crisis, either falling or rising, or a stock crisis, only then will there be a special ‘treatment’ or policy.
He gave an example, casuistically, the increase in chili prices that occurred in the past month was indeed triggered by two factors, namely the climate change factor, and the soil factor, where many chili plantations were damaged which not all chili farmers could handle.
“There are factors constraining capital, knowledge and skills, so that our chili farmers cannot overcome this problem,” he explained.
The government, according to Fadli, must place the case of the spike in chili prices within the framework of the issue of the threat of global food availability, especially since after the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected food supply and prices in the last two years, new problems have emerged which have also affected the food supply. global food supply chain, namely the Russia-Ukraine war.
According to data from FAO (The Food and Agriculture Organization) and the World Bank, he continued, supply chain disruptions due to the Russo-Ukrainian war have caused a spike in food prices worldwide.
To secure national food stocks, currently a number of countries have issued policies to stop food exports. Restrictions on the export of such commodities will further make global food prices skyrocket, thus making it difficult for food importing countries to access.
“Right now FAO has warned that the cost of agricultural inputs, especially fertilizers, will soon soar sharply, which will worsen food security in poor or developing countries. This June, according to FAO data, the agricultural input cost index has reached a record high. It is this last issue that should concern us,” he said.
He stated that facing such dynamics, fundamental changes should be made in the way of farming. “In the future, we will no longer be able to manage this agriculture in the traditional way, so it is very vulnerable to various environmental changes,” he said.****
