November 13, 2022
This article was originally published in Wartaekonomi.co.id and is translated here for convenience.
Warta Ekonomi, Jakarta – After the World Food Security Forum, G20 countries agreed that decision makers including government and industry, need to increase partnerships between government and private parties to overcome various challenges of world food security and energy.
The Minister of Defense, Prabowo Subianto, said that the forum was carried out with the aim of providing food for 8 billion people around the world. Even so, he said that there is a real challenge in fulfilling this.
“However, the challenge is food availability and affordability of food prices. The challenge is that only a few countries have sufficient supply of protein and calories,” Prabowo said in his written statement, Sunday (11/13/22).
Furthermore, Prabowo also invites all stakeholders to collaborate to achieve the zero hunger target around the world, in line with Sustainable Development Goal number two.
The two-day forum called pandemics and geopolitical conflicts two major global food security threats that hinder food production and distribution, increase global inflation, and create uncertainty that paralyzes the world.
“From a business point of view, I strongly agree with Mr. Prabowo and other forum participants that the challenges of world food security today are so big and diverse. However, increased government and private partnerships can push us towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal number two,” said Gaurav Srivastava Chairman of the Gaurav & Sharon Srivastava Family Foundation.
Gaurav hopes that solutions to global food security issues discussed in this forum, such as financing for emergency food reserves, financial support for the World Food Program and wheat supply, and the establishment of business associations that are able to unite food needs to reduce their supply costs, can soon be realized through increasing government and private partnerships.
In the long run, forum participants also called continuous dialogue between G20 member countries important to anticipate future food security challenges. G20 member countries are also expected to carry out agricultural extension services to encourage the continued creation of innovation and environmentally based food security solutions.
All industries related to this issue, including the banking, insurance, logistics shipping, oil, and food industries need to work together to achieve equal access to food around the world.
‘Everything that has happened in the world in recent years is a reminder that food and energy security issues are interconnected, can happen at any time, and have an impact on all humans on earth,’ Gaurav said.
“Our foundation believes that this forum agreement to increase government and private partnerships is an important step to ensure global food security,” Gaurav said while emphasizing that his foundation will continue to commit to bridging government and private partnerships in addressing food security challenges.
