Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — Indonesia is facing mounting economic and environmental risks from food loss and waste (FLW), with losses reaching an estimated to Rp551 trillion ($35.6 billion) each year. The National Food Agency (Bapanas) address the issue with the Gerakan Selamatkan Pangan (Save Food Movement).
The agency reported that on average, between 115 and 184 kilograms of food is wasted per person annually, generating as much as 23 to 48 million tons of waste nationwide. The amount of discarded food would be sufficient to feed 61 million to 125 million people, nearly half of Indonesia’s population.
This waste has caused economic losses of between Rp213 trillion and Rp551 trillion rupiah ($13.5 billion to $34.9 billion). That figure represents about 4% to 5% of the country’s gross domestic product.
Beyond the economic toll, food loss and waste (FLW) are also worsening the global environmental crisis.
To address the issue, Bapanas has rolled out the Gerakan Selamatkan Pangan (Save Food Movement), which targets reductions in waste across the retail, hospitality, restaurant, and traditional market sectors.
“This initiative is a concrete step to cut food waste, particularly in modern retail, hotels, restaurants, and traditional markets,” said Nita Yulianis, Director of Food Security Monitoring at Bapanas, in a statement on Wednesday (September 10).
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The program aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.3, which calls for halving per-capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food loss along production and supply chains by 2030.
Embedded in Indonesia’s medium-term development plan for 2025–2029, the initiative sets an annual target of saving 3% to 5% of food through 2029. First launched in 2022, the program is now active across 17 priority provinces.
Operating under a “pentahelix” approach, it brings together five key groups including academia, business, communities, government, and media to ensure the program is not just symbolic but creates tangible change in food management practices on the ground.
(Raidi/Agung)
