Team begins food security inspection<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A fact-finding mission of non-government
\norganizations of seven Southeast Asian countries has started work
\non the food security condition in six provinces here.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the group of non-government organizations (NGO),
\nresearcher Walden Bello, said Wednesday the mission, which has
\ngot under way in Jakarta, began on Jan. 25 and will end on Feb.6.<\/p>\n
Apart from Jakarta the 15-member mission will cover some areas
\nhighlighted in the media -- West Java, East Java, Kupang, East
\nTimor and East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Walden Bello, co-director of a research group, Focus on the
\nGlobal South in Bangkok, said members were of diverse
\nspecialties, mainly in agriculture and food security.<\/p>\n
The members are grouped in the Southeast Asian Food Security
\nand Fair Trade Council, chaired by Bello.<\/p>\n
\"We ... want to see the real situation of Indonesia's scarcity
\nof food as we have read about it in the international media,\"
\nBello told a media conference held by the local branch of the
\nInternational Pesticide Action Network.<\/p>\n
The mission, he said, was being conducted at the request of
\nits Indonesian member and partner, the Pesticide Action Network,
\n\"so as to find ways in which we, as a region, can respond to this
\ncrisis.\"<\/p>\n
A report with recommendations would be released after the
\nmission's completion, he said.<\/p>\n
The council, he added, originated from the 1996 Southeast
\nAsian NGO Conference on Food Security and Fair Trade held in the
\nPhilippines in 1996 when several groups in the region and the
\nFood and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations gathered
\nto discuss pressing concerns of food availability and
\naffordability, especially that of rice.<\/p>\n
The government last revealed that 17.1 million households or
\naround 100 million people would go hungry and would need to
\nimport at least 4.1 million tons of rice.<\/p>\n
Among crucial issues the mission was seeking to establish the
\nextent of the crisis; whether it was systemic or simply a result
\nof extremely unfavorable weather patterns, the effectiveness of
\nmassive aid packages and impact of further indebtedness and
\nproposed aid schemes on the Indonesian populace.<\/p>\n
Adi Sasono, the Minister for Cooperatives and Small
\nEnterprises and Minister of Food and Horticulture A.M. Saefuddin
\nwere among officials the council would like to meet.<\/p>\n
Obaidillah Khan, one of the team members and an ex-Food and
\nAgricultural Organization staffer, remarked that unrest and crime
\nwould continue to prevail if the government failed to meet basic
\nneeds for food.<\/p>\n
The mission's report would also be brought to multilateral
\nagencies such as the FAO and the World Bank, Bello said.<\/p>\n
The Council plans to make a formal presentation of the report
\nin a conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Feb. 24 to 26 this
\nyear. (01)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/team-begins-food-security-inspection-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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