UGM Launches Movement For Food Sovereignty

Yogyakarta, Oct 17 (Antara) - The Faculty of Agrocomplex at the Gajah Mada University (UGM) launched the Nusantara Food Sovereignty Movement here on Wednesday, said Faculty of Agriculture Dean Jamhari. According to Jamhari, the Agrocomplex Faculty comprises the faculties of agriculture, agriculture technology, animal husbandry, forestry, and veterinary sciences. "The Nusantara Food Sovereignty Movement has emerged out of a sense of concern for the poor economic conditions in Indonesia, particularly the continuing agricultural problems," he noted. The food movement aims to steer the national development agenda in the right direction since the current food crisis in the country is a result of a flawed food policy model, he remarked. "The paradigm of food policy that has been applied so far is based on the concept of food security, rather than food sovereignty," said Jamhari, adding that food sovereignty is more relevant than food security. According to Jamhari, the concept of food security does not involve control over how food is produced and from where it is obtained. Thus, it has become a weak point in the national food security model, he explained. He said Indonesia has fertile soil suitable for agriculture and farmers account for around 46 percent of the country`s population. But ironically, the country is not self-sufficient in food, he remarked. "We import most food commodities, even cassava and salt, although we are an agricultural and maritime country," Jamhari said. At present, Indonesia is relying heavily on imported food commodities such as wheat, soybean, dairy products, sugar, and beef, he said. "Indonesia imports 100 percent of wheat, 70 percent of dairy products, 60 percent of soybean, 54 percent of sugar, and 30 percent of beef to meet the domestic food demand," he said. The Nusantara Food Sovereignty Movement will focus on involving the political leadership in mapping out a collaborative and comprehensive policy on food, ensuring optimization of land and water resources for food, pushing self-sufficiency and development of supporting infrastructure for food production, cultivating in accordance with food consumption patterns, and establishing a food network and institution.