Visiting Scholar Presentation: Reforming Food Program in Indonesia: Obstacles, Success Story and Challenges to Sustain It

Food, particularly rice, constitutes a significant portion of poor households’ budgets. This prompted the Indonesian government to launch the RASKIN food program (Program Subsidi Beras bagi Masyarakat Berpendapatan Rendah) in the early 2000s.

Despite its critical role, studies have shown that the program did not fully achieve its potential. Although some reforms have incrementally improved its effectiveness, significant opportunities for further improvement remain. For example, in 2016, the Indonesian government transitioned the program from in-kind transfers to a voucher-based system.

In this presentation, speaker Dr Elan Satriawan discussed how Indonesia reformed the Food Assistance Program, the outcomes of these reforms, and the challenges encountered during and after the transition.

This seminar was chaired by Dr Diana Contreras Suarez, Senior Research Fellow at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research.

About the author

Dr Elan Satriawan is Chief of the Policy Working Group, a policy think tank under the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (Tim Nasional Percepatan Penanggulangan Kemiskinan, TNP2K), and a member of the expert advisory team to Indonesia Minister of Finance.

He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

His research spans a range of topics across development microeconomics areas, particularly on the impact evaluation of social programs, poverty-related issues including nutrition/health, education, and interlinkages between the two.

He has extensive knowledge in conducting monitoring and evaluation as well as using the knowledge generated from the research for policy advocacy, capacity building and knowledge management. He holds a PhD from Michigan State University.

• Event Details

  Tuesday, 4 June, 2024 (11:30–12:30)

  Yasuko Hiraoka Room (Room 106)

  Sidney Myer Asia Centre (Building 158)