REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Deputy Chief of the House's Commission IV Daniel Johan has urged the government to set up a National Food Agency (BPN) as mandated by Law No. 18 of 2012 on food.

"We urge the government to form a National Food Agency," he stated.

The establishment of BPN is part of the efforts to stabilize the national food prices in the long run, he noted.

The government of President Joko Widodo set up a food task force that has performed its duties effectively, and thus, if the food prices increase, then the rise will not be too high, he said.

In the long run, the country needs a BPN to stabilize food prices in a well-institutionalized and coordinated way through a single body, he emphasized.

"The government has not set up the BPN due to a shortage of funds and lack of bureaucratic recruitment," he pointed out.

He said the government has constantly faced obstacles to set up the agency, which plays an important function.

The government should not harbor concerns regarding the obstacles, but it should instead upgrade the National Logistics Board (Bulog) into a BPN.

"Do not worry thinking about them. The government can upgrade Bulog's function, role, and authority into a National Food Agency," he noted.

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