Palm oil, food security and sustainability: Lessons from Jakarta
I’ve just returned from an intense and inspiring journey through Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, meeting farmers, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and public officials, working every day to feed millions of people. During my visit, I had the chance to speak at a public dialogue organized by GAPKI and to join a round table organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Palm oil, food security and sustainability: Lessons from Jakarta
Their challenges, their hopes, and the global debates swirling around palm oil made one thing clear: food security is about far more than just calories.
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Throughout this inspiring journey, I engaged with incredible people who are shaping the future of food security, balanced lifestyles, and sustainable palm oil. These three factors are deeply interconnected.
- Real food security means ensuring not just the quantity but the quality of calories, combined with adequate physical activity and strong mental and social well-being. Simply counting calories is not enough.
The palm oil supply chain is, in many ways, the most advanced in responding to EU requirements like the Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), despite the high costs and complex bureaucracy involved, especially for smallholders and small farmers.
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Indonesia, as I had the opportunity to discuss in several sessions, particularly during a panel hosted by GAPKI, is among the countries most committed to protecting its forests over the past decade, as public data clearly shows — challenging widespread stereotypes.
- The next challenge is to continue promoting free trade as a strategic tool for food security, including in Europe, where rising inflation and market complexity still threaten access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food.
- And, of course, we must support higher upstream productivity to meet growing global demand.
