JakartaPost-Nov 7, 2024
Indonesia ranks 77th out of 127 countries with a Global Hunger Index (GHI) score of 16.9 percent, and 7.2 percent of Indonesia’s population faces undernourishment, the findings of the latest study by Bright Institute found. The institute’s economist Awalil Rizky said the ranking was derived from the 2024 GHI, which assessed various hunger indicators. Indonesia’s GHI score stands at 16.9, indicating a moderate hunger level. Awalil expressed concern over this ranking, highlighting that it reflects poorly on the country’s food security, especially given Indonesia’s extensive agricultural resources. “This is not good. It suggests that despite having vast agricultural land and a large farming community, our hunger levels are merely average. Slightly below average,” he said during a webinar on Tuesday, as quoted by tempo.co. “Well, according to the GHI, we are experiencing undernourishment. The nutritional deficiency rate is 7.2 percent, which means that 7.2 percent of Indonesia’s population is not food secure,” said Awalil. He said the public should not overlook the numbers related to food consumption deficiencies among Indonesians. In a separate development, Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Nusron Wahid said that approximately 3 million hectares of land are necessary to establish new rice fields to support President Prabowo Subianto’s food self-sufficiency program. “Because old rice fields on Java Island have been turned into factories, residential areas, schools, hospitals, which are also good. But they need to be replaced,” Nusron said at his office onTuesday, as quoted by tempo.co. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2024/11/07/indonesia-ranks-77th-in-global-hunger-levels.html
