Why is Indonesian Food Stock Is So Unsecured

Why is Indonesian Food Stock 
Is So Unsecured

Why is Indonesian food stock is so unsecured for feeding the people.  There are factors influencing the availability of Indonesian food Stock and supply:

1.    Low productivity of land

2.    Narrowing  arable area for rice field due to land conversion to housing or industrial plant.

3.    Failure of harvest due to lack of water supply, pests or flood.

4.    Unstable supply of  farm production means as fertilizer (in time of growing, fertilizer disappear from the market, shortage or deed of speculators)

Low production of land may be caused by less educative of the most farmers. In 1984 Indonesia achieve rice self-sufficient, it was the result of the then  serious efforts of the government to develop agriculture sector.  More agricultural extension workers were recruited to help farmer cultivated their land in measuring fertilizer needed, planning planting schedule, etc. The attention of government  in agriculture was shifted to the unsuccessful high technological industry. The shifting attention to the industry sector made narrowing arable area. 

Drought and flood are the impact of unwise land use and the over exploitation of woods and forest.  Unplanned of deforestation cause run off and accelerated erosion in the upland area and flood in lowland area. In the dry season, no stream of water flow from the former rainfall catchment areas.

Farmers are always complaining about the disappear and the difficulty to buy fertilizer in time of they need it.   Indeed the fertilizer factories are also complaining about the lack of gas supply from Pertamina (the National Petroleum and Gas Corporation).  Gas is supplying material to nitrogen fertilizer, according to Winarno Tohir (2008) there is Constitution regulating the gas sales and utilization, stating Indonesian gas has been bound to foreign contract.  80 % export or sold to foreign country meet the contract and 20% for domestic utility. The contract was signed for certain period of time and it is not an easy problem to cancel or change the contract.

            Those factors make Indonesia find it is difficult to increase its food stock.   The food reserve  for secured supply is stock for 90 to 100 days consumption.  This duration is the same with a season of paddy cultivation..  Now, Indonesia has rice stock of 350.000 tons, while the safe stock should be 1 million tons.

            The enough supply of food stock owned by the government ensures the stability of nations.  However the supply should be accessible to the whole people.  The links of the food supply is illustrated below.           World trade  in rice is about 30 million tons. Leading exporters are China, Thailand, Vietnam, The United States, India and Pakistan. The United States does not produce a lot of rice, its production of rice is about 8 million tons a year, but Americans do not much consume rice that the stock and export half of its output may give status among major exporting countries.  Indonesia belongs to the importing countries with Brazil, Iraq, Bangladesh and the Arab world, and African countries are also major consumers countries. 

            Though Indonesia is not net importer, the huge number of population makes significant importer.  
Those are the reason why this country is unsecured in food . This is trying to make food supply and food production increase through various  efforts.