From 1996 to 2000, the Indonesian economy weathered a series of climatic, financial, political and sectarian shocks. The shocks adversely effected food security in all of its different dimensions. In response to the crisis, the Government “coped” by establishing a number of social safety net programs. The sale of subsidised rice to the poor (ie. the OPK and WFP-assisted OPSM programs); support for infant feeding and subsidised health care in selected village and district health centers; school scholarship programs and a series of public works programs were the main public form of public response. There are three key near-term challenges. The first is to keep food security on the agenda of the nation’s policy makers. The second is to define a practical, affordable transition strategy for moving from “crisis-borne” programs to more sustainable efforts to address food security. The third challenge is to continuously adjust these efforts to Indonesia’s rapidly evolving institutional landscape. Eight near and medium-term actions are proposed as the core of a food security action agenda.
Editor's note: This is a 384KB file. Note that Part 2 has also been posted to the Gateway.