T

he government needs to start diversifying food crops and boosting production of ingredients needed for value-added food processing, an expert says.

Such a move will help the government keep inflation in check and help the masses feed themselves, he says.

Agriculture in Indonesia, particularly in Java, should change its focus from rice to more labor-intensive and higher-income farming, such as fruit, vegetables and livestock, as well as the materials needed for value-added food processing, the Thomas D. Cabot professor emeritus at Harvard University, Peter Timmer, said on Wednesday.

'€œThe current policy makes such diversification difficult because rice is expensive to buy in rural markets and it'€™s also quite lucrative to produce and sell [rice] because of the high price,'€ he said during a discussion on inflation at the Trade Ministry.

'€œThus the rice price policy is part of the '€˜high cost'€™ economy.'€

Access to affordable rice at local markets would be part of an integrated strategy to lower food prices and allow inflation to stay in check, he said.

Timmer argued that there had been a structural transformation of the food system in Indonesia from 1880 to 2010, leading to a shift in consumption of commodities to packaged and processed food both in rural and urban areas.

Low-processed food made up 40.9 percent and 38.1 percent of overall intake by rural inhabitants and urban dwellers, respectively, while high-processed food contributed 22.7 percent and 34.1 percent to the total intake in the two population categories in 2010.

This compared to 16.7 percent and 16.4 percent shares of unprocessed food consumed by people in rural and urban areas throughout the same year.

Like other developing countries, food prices are a key determinant behind inflation.

A shortage of key staples, notably shallots, garlic and red chili, for example, pushed up year-on-year inflation to a 20-month record of 5.31 percent in March last year.

Deputy head for distribution and service statistics at the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Sasmito Hadi Wibowo, said sufficient food stock throughout the year was the key to controlling inflation triggered by food.

At present, stocks were high for only the few months surrounding the harvest season and immediately fell short in the remaining months, pushing up food prices considerably, he said.

'€œThere should be appropriate policies designed to ensure sufficient food throughout the year. Production and harvest seasons for food commodities should be spread over every few months to achieve sufficiency,'€ he said.

In support of this, new agriculture technology, such as green house farming, should be adopted to produce, particularly horticultural food crops that were less reliant on the weather, according Sasmito.