Population boom threatens food supply

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Population boom in Indonesia in the next few years may threaten food supply, according to Chairman of the National Population and Family Planning Agency Sugiri Syarief.



The country`s rice consumption was still very high, namely 139.19 kg per capita per year, Sugiri said here on Thursday during a media gathering on "The Population Problem for Food Supply".



The land conversion from farming area into resettlement area is very rapid due to the big population growth.



The climate change triggered by the high population growth also caused harvest failure, according to Sugiri.



"The population could affect the climate change, and on the other hand the population might also be affected by the climate change," he said.



Based on the population census 2010, the country`s population has reached 237.6 million and the population growth rate at 1.49 per year.



"The high population growth rate has caused rapid land conversion, and at that same increase food demand and supply," he said.



The population growth must be controlled in order to prevent food supply threat.



A grand design on population development and national family planning program revitalization is needed for that purpose, according to him.



Besides, technology development is also necessary to deal with the population increase and anticipate food crisis.



Chairman of the agriculture ministry`s food resilience agency Achmad Suryana said the population growth control is a must in order to prevent food crisis.



Reliable food distribution system is also needed to ensure food distribution evenly throughout Indonesia.



(SYS/F001/O001)