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xperts, company executives and farmers’ associations attending the ASEAN Food Security Conference have expressed differing opinions about the value of food imports in creating national food security.

World Bank economist Kiyoshi Taniguchi said on Tuesday, in a presentation on the conference’s first day, that food prices were very volatile. In countries with a growing population and a developing economy like Indonesia, maintaining food prices should be the government’s main priority.

Taniguchi, who conducted research in Indonesia, said that even minor rises in food prices hurt people living below the poverty line.

He cited a survey conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) and the World Bank that poor people spent most of their money on food. “A minor hike in food prices hits them hard,” he said.

He said poor people in Indonesia spent 64.6 percent of their daily expenditure on food and spent 24.7 percent on non-food and fuel.

“This is different from wealthier people who spend 34.7 percent of their daily expenditure on food and 52.4 percent on non-food and fuel,” he said.

“If it makes food prices affordable, the government should import food commodities from the international market,” he said.

He also said that the government needed to revitalize the agricultural sector. “It should be the government’s long-term goal,” he said.

Flour giant PT Bogasari CEO Franciscus Welirang said, “Food crises are not a temporary but a continuous phenomenon. It deserves everyone’s attention.”

“In some situations, because of climate change, we are dependent on imported food,” he said.

Indonesia, the world’s third-largest rice consumer, is struggling to secure national stockpiles by importing rice from Vietnam and Thailand.

This year, to secure its 1.5-million-ton domestic stockpile and to control prices, Indonesia plans to import 800,000 tons of rice.

Mudzakir from the Indonesian Peasant Alliance, however, criticized the government for paying more attention to which country offered the best prices for rice imports rather than taking care of farmers.

“The government should intensively educate farmers so that they can analyze the changes in climate,” he said. “Truth be told, many farmers are now confused about the best time to plant corn or rice.”

He also said that farmers should be the backbone of agricultural
revitalization.

The government should also encourage farmers with higher incentives. “Increasing the rice purchasing price for farmers would be a good start,” he said.

The Agriculture Ministry announced last month that the purchasing price for dried rice husks was Rp 3,300 (US$0.3696) per kilogram. “That is not good enough for farmers.”

Member of the National Horticulture Board Tony J. Kristianto said that dependence on imported foods could be reduced through food
diversification.

“We should consume less rice and eat more varied staple foods like corn,” he said.

The ASEAN Food Security Conference, a two-day conference, is being conducted prior to the 33rd meeting of ASEAN Ministers
of Agriculture and Forestry on Oct. 6, and plans to produce recommendations on food security for the
ministers. (lfr)