The C0VID-19 pandemic has highlighted the precariousness of Indonesia’s food system, which refers to all of the actors, activities and interconnected processes in production, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal of food products as well as the broader economic, societal and environmental contexts. Disruption in any part of the system can have a ripple effect on the rest of the system and threaten people’s livelihoods and food security.

For example, a roadblock restricting mobility in one village can obstruct food distribution, cause delays and food loss, reduce access to food, affect food prices and hurt farmers’ incomes.

To mitigate the risks of disruption, good governance across the food system is of paramount importance. Yet, major governance gaps still exist in Indonesia’s food system. With this backdrop, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced the creation of the National Food Agency (NFA). Can the NFA answer the governance challenges, or will it compound the complexity of the existing governance structures?

Given the broad range of activities in the food system, where at least 12 ministries and agencies are explicitly tasked with regulating and governing portions of the system, from the Agriculture and Marine Affairs and Fisheries ministries to the latest involvement of the Defense Ministry in the food estate program. Not to mention the regional governments, which play a significant role both in policy and implementation, and the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) and state-owned enterprises that execute government interventions. This division of labor is necessary to achieve the immense task of ensuring food security for all Indonesians. However, it can introduce tensions and trade- offs especially when competing interests arise.

The competing interests have resulted in a fragmented and disjointed policy approach to the food system. For example, the Health Ministry’s dietary guidelines popularized through the Isi Piringku (Fill My Plate) campaign promotes diverse consumption of carbohydrates, fruit, vegetables and proteins. However, the Agriculture Ministry prioritizes production of only a few strategic commodities namely rice, maize, soybeans and beef for the sake of self-sufficiency.

The latest food estate program headed by the Defense Ministry also focuses specifically on producing cassava. This strategy has created the unintended consequence of limiting the variety of food. Production of other food items, such as fruits and vegetables, have stagnated or even declined. Now, Indonesia is among the countries with the lowest consumption of fruits and vegetables, far below the WHO’s recommended guideline.