ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – As Indonesia commemorates World Food Day 2025, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is calling for collaborative efforts to achieve healthy, sustainable, and resilient food systems in the country.
World Food Day is observed on every 16 October and brings the global theme of ‘Hand-in-hand for better foods and a better future’ this year.
FAO commends the Government of Indonesia’s strong commitment to achieving food security and advancing food systems transformation toward sustainable development, actively sharing its experience with other countries embarking in similar processes.
Indonesia, by working together with millions of its smallholder farmers, has observed increasing production of staples, such as rice, and declining prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity, from 5.12% in 2020 to 4.02% in 2024, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data.
However, prevalence of undernourishment remains fluctuating—increasing to 10.21% in 2022 and declining to 8.27% in 2024, BPS data shows. Undernourishment refers to insufficient energy intake. The figure is still above the target of 5% by 2024, as set in Indonesia’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Indonesia’s strong commitment to food security offers a great momentum for cross-sectoral collaboration across the agrifood systems. Beyond boosting production, it is equally important to ensure that every Indonesian has regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives,” said Rajendra Aryal, FAO Representative in Indonesia and Timor-Leste, October 16, 2025.
“Alleviating undernourishment is expected to improve productivity and earning capacity, as well as reducing poverty sustainably, as part of the 2045 Golden Indonesia vision,” he added.
Among the challenges is the high cost of a healthy diet, which has been increasing both globally and in Indonesia. FAO’s The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2025 report estimates that a healthy diet in Indonesia costs USD 4.75 PPP per person per day, higher than the average in high-income countries at USD 4.22. This makes healthy diets unaffordable to an estimated 43.5%, or 123 million, of Indonesia’s population.
“A healthy diet is adequate, diverse, balanced, and moderate, ensuring that people receive the necessary nutrients while avoiding harmful excesses. Transforming the way we produce, distribute, and consume our food can widen access to such diets, and this would be impossible without enhancing investments and forging partnerships across borders, governments, generations, and communities,” Rajendra said.
It is estimated that investments ranging from USD 320 to 350 billion annually are needed to transform global agrifood systems, while in Indonesia’s food systems transformation, about USD 60 to 245 billion are needed until 2030.
This transformation proves pivotal as current agrifood systems impose huge hidden costs on our health, the environment and society. The global hidden costs reach $12 trillion annually, according to FAO’s The State of Food and Agriculture 2024. Most of them arise from unhealthy dietary patterns and are linked to alarming non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
In Indonesia, the hidden costs total USD 319 billion; USD 225 billion of them are dietary risks associated with NCDs, followed by environmental costs of USD 155 billion from greenhouse gas emissions, land-use change, and nitrogen release. Lastly, the social hidden cost reaches 12 billion from agrifood workers’ poverty and undernourishment.
“Indonesia’s policy direction that focuses on eco-region and local resources by supporting the diversification of food production and consumption, including through aquatic food, has laid a strong foundation for a food-security future for all,” Rajendra said.
“Together, FAO and its partners are committed to supporting Indonesia to deliver the four betters; better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and better livelihoods for all,” he affirmed. (AT Network)
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