RI more prepared for food crisis, says UN official

Lilian Budianto ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 05/10/2008 10:34 AM  |  World

Indonesia has a good chance of weathering the worldwide food price crisis but must suppress speculation on supply, a United Nations top executive said Friday.

"Indonesia is better prepared because it has invested much in rice and has a safety buffer," said Noeleen Heyzer, UN under-secretary-general and executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

"But the government must cooperate with the importers and exporters of the commodity and start talking to each other on how to reduce speculation (on supply) and how to deal with energy prices, which are closely linked to food scarcity," she said.

Heyzer said the food crisis in the region was caused by Asia-Pacific countries turning away from agriculture and sustainable development, and investing less in food crops.

Heyzer is in Indonesia to meet government officials to follow up on a number of agreements reached at ESCAP's 64th annual session in Bangkok on April 30.

That meeting concluded in agreements on cooperation in the development of renewable energy in a bid to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

During the meeting, she said, ESCAP members had decided to hold a consultative meeting for countries in the region prior to any UN summit on food crisis, which Indonesia had offered to host.

Heyzer said she had met with Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda and Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Aburizal Bakrie and was scheduled to meet President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Friday.

"The main focus (of our meetings) is on energy security and sustainable agriculture. The President has been very concerned about these issues and I am very pleased to see Indonesia is willing to play host," she said.

In a 2008 UN report published by ESCAP and the Asian Development Bank, ESCAP said many countries in the Asia-Pacific region might not meet all of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) due to problems in several keys areas, including financing and governance.

The eight MDGs - which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education by the target date of 2015 - form a blueprint agreed to in September 2000 by most of the world's countries and the world's leading development institutions.

"The rising food and fuel prices are threats to MDGs. They make these goals very hard to achieve, especially in areas that are already very poor and even in rich countries where the economic disparity is huge," said Heyzer.

"Therefore we are getting the governments to talk about it right now. We bring them all together and provide them with strategic analysis, policy options and recommendations. We convene in order to make things happen".

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