Antara News·Indonesia·Thursday, October 1, 2026 at 02:14 PM

Indonesia calls for global action to strengthen food security

Translate

Bayu Prasetyo

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's Minister of Trade Budi Santoso called for joint action to strengthen food security and ensure sustainable access to food for people around the world during the first session of the G20 Trade Ministers' Meeting (TMM) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States of America.

Santoso said food security, as a foundation of human dignity, must not be turned into an instrument of geopolitical pressure.

"Food commodities must be the foundation of human dignity. Food should not be used as an instrument of coercion. Our task is clear: to overcome differences, strengthen pragmatic cooperation, and ensure that food remains a bridge between nations," Santoso said, as quoted in a press release received in Jakarta on Thursday.

At the same time, Indonesia believes that an open, predictable, and rules-based multilateral trading system remains one of the foundations that must be upheld.

To this end, Indonesia is encouraging progress in agricultural negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), particularly toward finding a permanent solution on Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes and establishing a Special Safeguard Mechanism for developing countries.

According to Santoso, public stockholding programs, when implemented proportionately and transparently, can bridge periods of food surplus and shortages, maintain food access for vulnerable communities, and provide reliable markets for smallholder farmers.

Santoso said the Special Safeguard Mechanism is needed as a safeguard instrument for developing countries when they face import surges or significant price declines.

He further explained that food security rests on two pillars: predictable access to food and resilient national food systems. Both need to operate in line with the principles and objectives of the global trading system.

The minister said every country has a legitimate right to safeguard its food security and implement public policies in the interests of its people.

"Every country has legitimate rights to maintain food security and implement public policies that benefit its people," Santoso said, adding that those rights must be exercised responsibly.

He said developing a resilient national food system is not merely a humanitarian issue, but also part of the economic strategy. A resilient food system also affects trade balance, productivity, health, inflation, and economic growth.

"Investment in a resilient food system should not be viewed merely as social assistance, but as part of risk management," he said.

View the original on Antara News →

KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.