Strengthening Food Security Policy: Reforms on Hybrid Maize Seeds Delivery Mechanism
Authors
Imelda Magdalena Freddy
Gede Endy Kumara Gupta
From 2009 to 2017, Indonesia produced an average of 18.8 million tons of maize per year. This failed to meet the domestic demand by an average of 2.4 million tons per year during the same period. Since imports have been severely restricted in recent years, domestic maize prices have become much higher than international prices and also caused domestic price increases for other food commodities.
Since 2015, the government’s UPSUS program addresses the shortage by attempting to increase domestic maize production. Farmers are being provided with hybrid maize seeds free of charge. To improve the overall effectiveness of the UPSUS hybrid maize seed subsidies, local maize markets need to be categorized by their particular strength. This policy paper propose three policy reforms for the UPSUS seed subsidy program to improve its effectiveness.
