Food Insecurity in Indonesia during the COVID-19 Pandemic - What do We Learn from the High-Frequency Monitoring of Households?

Jul 19, 2026

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Policy note examining how COVID-19 affected food insecurity in Indonesia using High-Frequency (HiFy) household survey evidence. It highlights that, despite earlier progress, moderate or severe food insecurity and the prevalence of insufficient food consumption worsened soon after the outbreak, with 37.7% reporting they ate less due to insufficient money/resources by May 2020. It discusses measured drivers and links experience-based food insecurity to risks such as inadequate nutrition, malnutrition, and stunting.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Policy Note: Food Security

Background and context

Trends in food insecurity indicators during COVID-19

Measurement approach (FIES and experiential measures)

Implications for policy and mitigation

Pub lic isclosure Au horizeIND NE S A P OVERT d Y ASSESSMENTPub lic Disclosure AuthorizedFOOD S ECURITYPub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure AuthorizedPAGE 1 | A background policy note for the 2022 Indonesia Poverty Assessment | Food Insecurity in Indonesia during the COVID-19 Pandemic:
| | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | By Bambang Suharnoko Sjahrir & Iqbal Dawam Wibisono
12.2021 | | | | | | | | | • What do we learn from the High-Frequency Monitoring of Households? 1 | | | | | 1 Sjahrir and Wibisono (2021) a presentation that was prepared with detailed analysis for this policy note. | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | PO L I CY NOTE PAG E 2 POLICY NOTE INDO N ESIA POVERTY ASS ESSM E NT FOOD SECURITY Financial support for this work was generously provided by the Australian Government under the Australia-World Bank Indonesia Partnership (ABIP) POLICY NOTE INDONESIA POVERTY ASS ESSM E NT FOOD SECURITY PAGE 3 37.7% of households reported eating less than usual in the last week because of lack of money or other resources by May 2020 2 BPS (2021) . 3 Defined as caloric intake less than the minimum dietary energy requirement. 4 BPS (2018) as cited in Laporan Task Force Ketahanan Pangan (2021) . 5 World Bank (2021) . Estimates are based on the nationally representative Indonesia High-Frequency Household Survey. For the year 2019, respondents were asked about whether they had experienced food insecurity anytime during the year. 6 Ibid. Bringing temporary increases in food insecurity, the COVID-19 outbreak showed that many Indonesian households remain food insecure despite years of solid progress. According to FAO’s Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity had declined from 8.66 in 2017 to 5.42 percent in 2019, significantly lower than the average of South-east Asian countries (18.8 percent)2. The prevalence of insufficient food consumption3 halved from 16.5 percent in 2011 to 7.9 percent in 20184. Still, progress on some dimensions of food insecurity reversed soon after the outbreak. 37.7 percent of households reported eating less than usual in the last week because of lack of money or other resources by May 2020, up from 22 percent in 20195. The share experiencing shortage of food insufficient resources stood at 31.2 percent, up from 19 percent6. As of March 2021, a year into the pandemic, both indicators had registered declines but remained slightly above their pre-pandemic levels. FIG . 1 Self-assessment of experiencing food insecurity increased after the COVID-19 outbreak | % OF HOUSEHOLDS WHO REPORTED EXPERIENCING SHORTAGE OF FOOD DUE TO INSUFFICIENT RESOURCES

| % OF HOUSEHOLDS WHO REPORTED EXPERIENCING EATING LESS DUE TO INSUFFICIENT RESOURCES

| | --- | --- | Note: Authors calculation based on HiFy multiple rounds. 95% CI is presented. Ate less: based on question: during the past week, was there a time when you/your household members ate less than you should due to lack of money or other resources?. Shortage of food based on the question: during the past week, was there a time when your household had food shortage because of lack of money or other resources?. POLICY NOTE INDONESIA POVERTY ASS ESSM E NT FOOD SECURITY PAGE 4 "Not having enough food and eating less over a period of time may lead to inadequate nutritional intake which can lead to malnutrition, stunting (for children below five years old) and negative impacts on health in general." 7 Tiwari et al.(2013), Rokx et al (2018) , Jaffee et al (2019) . 8 FAO states that the food insecurity measures cover four dimensions: availability, access, utilization, and stability. A broad conceptualization of stability has been adopted infood insecurity measures that treat the absence of anxiety about food insecurity and perceptions of insecurity as attributes of the stability o

FAQs

What does the policy note analyze about Indonesia’s food insecurity during COVID-19?

It analyzes how food insecurity dynamics changed during the pandemic using High-Frequency (HiFy) household survey data and experience-based indicators.

Which indicators showed deterioration after the COVID-19 outbreak?

The note reports that shares experiencing eating less due to insufficient money/resources and food shortages rose soon after the outbreak, peaking by May 2020 before declining later but staying slightly above pre-pandemic levels.

Why does the note emphasize understanding the drivers of food insecurity?

It argues that understanding drivers helps design policies to prevent longer-term harms, including reduced productivity, weaker human capital formation, and adverse health outcomes from inadequate nutrition.

Jul 19, 2026

Upload by Riley