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Indonesia proposes ASEAN food bank to deal with food insecurity
Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said that the regional grouping needs to have a funding mechanism that would allow the shipment of basic food staples such as rice from one country to another in the event of a food scarcity problem in some parts of the region.
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Seeking solutions: Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto speaks during a public lecture at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies while former ASEAN secretary general Ong Keng Yong listens on Aug. 29. (The Jakarta Post/Office of Coordinating Economic Minister)
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s the world grapples with a food insecurity problem induced by rising geopolitical tension and COVID-19, Indonesia, which is expected to take over the ASEAN leadership next year, is proposing that countries within the grouping set up a kind of region-wide food bank.
Speaking at a public lecture in the Rajaratnam School of International Studies on Monday evening, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said that the regional grouping needs to have a funding mechanism that will allow the shipment of basic food staples like rice from one country to another in the event of a food scarcity problem in some parts of the region.
"How much can each country allocate stock for their ASEAN partners, for countries like Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam? Also we need to set up a funding mechanism to move the stock to countries that need it the most," the senior economic minister told the audience.
Airlangga also said that the same mechanism has been proposed by Indonesia in context with the Group of Twenties (G20).
"We also use this model for the G20 meeting for food security on commodities like wheat. We need to have a multinational financing and funding that is available to source the food," Airlangga said.
In July, during a meeting of finance ministers and central bank leaders, countries in the G20 failed to reach a consensus on the global food crisis exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which is threatening to leave millions at risk of hunger.
"The majority of members agreed that there is an alarming increase of food and energy insecurity," Indonesia said in a statement.
