Soaring Food Prices, Food Security, and Poverty in Indonesia

This book examines the impact of rising food prices on the food security status of Indonesia in general and of the rural and urban poor in particular. It examines not only the impact of soaring food prices on food security and poverty in Indonesia at the macro level but also conducts a micro level analysis, which is where things happen, the toil and roil of eking out a living in an increasingly difficult social and economic environment. In times of price uncertainty, opting for a food security policy that leaves everything to the forces of the markets is no longer tenable. Farmers should be the cornerstone of the new food policy as, without them, increasing the output and quality of horticultural commodities, food crops, and livestock products will be difficult to achieve. Food security should be integrated into a multi-sector rural development strategy that brings together the agricultural sector, the processing and manufacturing sectors, trade, research and technology, and public works in program planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.