When Food is Available but Not Affordable: The Paradox of Nutrition in a Country Rich in Food

“Rice is expensive. I usually cook 2 liters, but now I have to reduce it to 1.5 liters." That was what Mrs. Tuti said when interviewed by a national TV reporter regarding the impact of the rice price increase in May 2026. Not only the price of rice, but also other food items such as fish, eggs, and cooking oil. The price increase forced Mrs. Tuti to buy according to her available funds.

“Rice is expensive. I usually cook 2 liters, but now I have to reduce it to 1.5 liters"

Indonesia is known as an agricultural country and is self-sufficient in rice production (Widyawati et al., 2025; World Food Programme, 2022). Data from the 2021 Food Monitor indicates that rice supply was quite stable in 2021. Rice exports even increased eightfold, and total rice consumption increased by 0.56% (Fauzi & Meganingtyas, 2021). Furthermore, in 2022, harvested area and total domestic rice production increased by 0.39% and 0.58%, respectively, compared to previous year (Pascal, 2022). This condition is reflected in the availability of rice in both traditional and modern markets. Not only rice, but also various types of fresh food are always available in the market. FAO data further show that Indonesia is the largest rice producer in Southeast Asia, the fourth largest rice producer in the world, and the second-largest producer of capture fisheries and aquaculture products globally (ANTARA, 2026; FAO & OECD, 2021).

However, food availability is inversely proportional to the nutritional problems of women and children in Indonesia. According to the 2024 Indonesian Nutritional Status Survey (SSGI), the national prevalence of stunting remains at 19.8%. In fact, several provinces, such as East Nusa Tenggara, West Sulawesi, and Papua, have a prevalence of stunting among under-five above 35.0% (Kemenkes RI, 2024). Meanwhile, the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey (SKI) showed that the prevalence of anemia among women aged 15-24 years reached 15.5%, while among pregnant women it reached 27.7% (Kemenkes RI, 2023).

In that case, if nutritious food is abundant and readily available in the market, why do so many women and children still lack access to nutritious food and suffer from malnutrition? It is ironic. In a country rich in food diversity and even self-sufficient in rice production, chronic malnutrition is the biggest challenge.

Many people understand that food security is simply about the availability of food, sufficient rice, and secure food stocks for years. However, food security is not only about food availability. The availability of food does not necessarily mean that people can afford it. Food security has four interrelated pillars, namely: availability, access, utilization, and stability. When one of these pillars is not met, the community has the potential to experience food insecurity (FAO et al., 2025).

What often happens in our society is that food is available in abundant quantities and varied, but people do not have sufficient access to purchase it, particularly due to limited economic access. The availability of food does not necessarily mean that people can afford it. Therefore, reducing the amount of food, buying cheaper food, or buying lower quality food are some forms of coping strategy that women do when experiencing food insecurity, as experienced by Mrs. Tuti. However, cheaper foods are often high in calories but low in nutrients dense, which impacts child growth and development (Nurbaya et al., 2019).

Various studies have consistently identified women and children as the most vulnerable groups to suffer from food insecurity. When food prices rise, economic access to food becomes more difficult, making women the first group to experience the impact (Aytekin Sahin & Mengi Celik, 2024; Khanam et al., 2020). This is because women who manage food supplies in the household, yet many studies have shown that women and children are often the last to receive food distribution within the household (Dizon et al., 2022). Therefore, difficulty accessing food will directly impacts women and children. According to UNICEF's conceptual framework on the causes of malnutrition, household food security is an indirect cause of malnutrition in women and children. This is because food security affects the nutritional intake of each individual within the household (UNICEF, 2021).

This paradox ultimately gave rise to a phenomenon that is now prevalent in Indonesia. Behind markets that provide a variety of fresh and nutritious food, millions of low-income families face the reality that nutritious food is not unavailable, but rather unaffordable. As the prices of rice, eggs, and fish continue to rise, many households are forced to choose cheaper and more filling foods, such as rice or instant noodles, which are high in calories but low in nutrients. As a result, Indonesia faces a paradox of triple burden of malnutrition: while stunting and micronutrient deficiencies remain serious problems, at the same time the prevalence of obesity and non-communicable diseases is increasing (Andriani et al., 2023).

This situation demonstrates that success in increasing food production does not necessarily guarantee that the nutritional needs of the community are met, down to the individual level. Food security is measured not only by the abundance of food in the market, but also by the ability of every family, especially women and children, to access affordable and nutritious food.

Indonesia should not only focus on the concept of food security but starting to adopt the concept of food and nutrition security. This means that Indonesia not only ensures food availability (enough food) but also ensuring that every individual has access to healthy and nutritious food. One way to do this is by increasing access to nutritious food through women's economic empowerment. Empowering women not only improves their skills and abilities in obtaining employment and income but also involves them in household economic decision-making, including having purchasing power and economic control in providing nutritious food for themselves, their children, and their families. Various studies have shown that when women have income and control over household leisure, they tend to allocate these resources to provide nutritious food, health services, and access to better education for their children (CARE-USA, 2020; Eissler & Bryan, 2025).

Therefore, the government should not only claim food self-sufficiency but also ensure that everyone has access to nutritious food, especially women and children. Access to food in the context of food affordability does not only means making food prices cheaper but also ensuring that every individual or household has the economic capacity to purchase sufficient, healthy and nutritious food to properly meet the family's nutritional needs.

References

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AI Disclosure Statement:

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used solely to assist with English grammar, language refinement, sentence clarity, and improving the flow of the manuscript. The AI was not used to generate the core ideas, arguments, literature interpretation, or conclusions. The author takes full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the manuscript.

About the Author and Article:

Nurbaya works in the Nutrition Department, Poltekkes Kemenkes Mamuju, West Sulawesi, Indonesia. This article is one of the three winning entries of the "From Campus to Policy" essay competition. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official views or position of CIPS.