Ministry bolsters food program oversight with risk management

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs is strengthening oversight for national food programs by adopting Cross-Sectoral National Development Risk Management (MRPN LS) to enhance program effectiveness and avoid failure in food projects.

Deputy Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Hanif Faisol Nurofiq explained that the MRPN LS serves as a control mechanism for national priority programs involving multiple ministries and government agencies.

"We are fulfilling the mandate of Presidential Regulation Number 147 of 2024 concerning the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs. The ministry is tasked with coordinating and controlling the execution of national priority programs," Hanif said in an official statement received on Friday.

He explained that oversight will not only target the development of food, energy, and water self-sufficiency zones, but will also cover the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program, the Red and White Village Cooperatives, the Red and White Fishing Villages, and waste management.

According to him, the government aims to avoid repeating the shortcomings of past food self-sufficiency projects, such as the one-million-hectare peatland project, the Merauke Integrated Food and Energy Estate (MIFEE), and other food estate initiatives, which were deemed to have yet to achieve optimal results.

The deputy minister stressed that President Prabowo Subianto is paying close attention to the development of food, energy, and water self-sufficiency zones, meaning potential risks must be mapped out early on to ensure the programs remain on track.

He further said that one of the main reasons past development projects fell short of optimal results was weak governance and low accountability in the execution.

To address this, the government is drafting the MRPN LS document, which will serve as a shared guideline for ministries and agencies to oversee national priority programs in a measurable, transparent, and accountable manner, ultimately streamlining cross-agency coordination.

To compile an integrated risk mitigation strategy, the coordinating ministry held a meeting in Bandung, West Java on Friday, involving various ministries and agencies, including the Ministry of National Development Planning.

Meanwhile, Expert Staff for Maritime Economics at the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs, Sugeng Santoso, stated that strengthening risk management is also aimed at boosting the National Food Security Index, as outlined in the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN).

"The government aims to increase the Food Security Index from 73 in 2025 to 82 by 2029 by strengthening food availability, affordability, and utilization," he said.

According to him, food availability is the most critical factor as it directly impacts domestic production capacity to meet public demand while maintaining nutritional quality.

Amid the looming threat of a prolonged dry season and various other food sector challenges this year, the government plans to integrate production increases with a risk management-based governance transformation to ensure priority programs run more effectively, efficiently, and sustainably.

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Translator: Aria Ananda, Raka Adji

Editor: Azis Kurmala

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