Global Protein Crisis Ahead: How Should Indonesia Mitigate?

Contributor: Adibah Rasikhah Amanto, The University of Adelaide

Editor : Hanke Kristantoro, The University of Western Australia

Bidirectional Effect of Food System and Protein Consumption

Nowadays, the world faces a serious challenge: a food crisis, particularly in protein, which is predicted to worsen due to rapid population growth. The United Nations (2017) predicts the global population to grow to nearly 10.46 billion people by 2050. Consequently, the increasing number of older people will double the average protein intake (UNFPA,2019). According to the Malthusian law, the exponential nature of population growth will eventually overtake food production, resulting in poverty and hunger..  

How Are The Demand and Supply of Protein Altered?

Protein is known for its function as a building block of the body. It is made of 20 common amino acids, both in animals and plants. The body is incapable of producing essential amino acids (i.e., histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine). Hence, they need to be consumed through diet. Insufficient food intake, which is common in poor countries, results in protein deficiency.

The daily amount of protein available in diets has already risen globally by 7% since 2010, except in Africa and Oceania, where it remains at around 65 and 100 grams per capita (FAO, 2024). Data from 2021 show greater animal-based protein consumption in higher-income countries at 71.2 grams per capita,  compared with lower-income countries at 10.9 grams per capita. Regions like Africa, Asia, and Europe have started utilising crops such as wheat as a primary protein source. Researchers are still trying to understand the mechanisms behind these changes in protein sources, aka protein transition. Protein transition holds evidence among other various multidisciplinary approaches.  

Enhancing Protein Consumption Varies in Indonesia

Recent Protein Consumption in Indonesia

According to BPS (2023), protein consumption in Indonesia results in 62,33 grams per day. Moreover, it says that higher-income people consume more protein (Table 1), ranging from 45,76 to 81,22 grams per day for 1663,05 to 2504,91 kcal per day. It is influenced by purchasing power. An economist, Chatib Basri (2024), said that despite Indonesia's large domestic market, its purchasing power is limited. This should be considered as one of the factors that influence protein consumption.

Although the data cannot measure protein qualities specifically, it shows sufficient protein consumption according to the recommendation of the 11th Widyakarya National Pangan dan Gizi  (2018), articulated around 2100 kcal for daily calories and 57 grams of daily protein. However, calorie intake is still below adequacy standards (Table 1).

Other data show that around 77.7% of the protein consumed comes from homemade foods and drinks, which tend to be healthier because they are assumed not to contain any additives; the rest comes from store-bought products. Based on the March National Socio-Economic Survey (Susenas), BPS-Statistics Indonesia released a specific proportion of daily consumption of calories by different food groups (BPS, 2023b). This results in higher protein consumption in urban areas than in rural areas.

Based on the Quintile of Expenditure, the daily average per capita consumption of calories also increased. Higher-income people will be able to afford more protein. However, only people in the third to fifth quintile meet the national recommendation of around 45.76 grams (Table 2).

How Does The Government Address The Protein Intake Problem?

The government has conducted its vision called Asta Cita (8 Quick Impact Programs) from the national transformation strategy: Towards a Golden Indonesia 2045 (Prabowo Subianto, 2024). One of the points is focusing on consolidating food and energy security, which aligns with the second goal of the Sustainable Development Goals: Zero Hunger.

Fish, A Higher and More Affordable Protein Resource

Even though other alternative proteins have been developed in other regions, Indonesia still needs to enhance fish consumption. Having the most significant potential for fish and marine resources, Indonesia still has lower fish consumption compared to other ASEAN countries, specifically positioned at 17th in the world in 2021, reaching 44.4 kg annually per capita (Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, 2021). This can be driven by factors such as a lack of infrastructure for distributing high-quality fish. As we know, Indonesia is formed by archipelagos; Hence, infrastructure and supply chain have become the main challenges. Issues include market accommodation, minimum ice supplies, and proper cold storage in boats. While some of the best quality fish are likely traded into the international market, Indonesians are likely to consume low to middle-quality fish (Mongabay Indonesia, 2018). Besides, the consumption culture in Indonesia tends to prefer meat over fish (Neliti, 2018), despite its higher protein content and affordability in some species compared with meat. Finally, the government still needs to improve fish consumption in Indonesia through collaborative mechanisms.

Introducing Various Alternative Proteins Through Makan Bergizi Gratis 

Realising how food consumption affects health status and national productivity in the long term has motivated the implementation of the next controversial policy: the Makan Bergizi Gratis or Free Nutritious Meals program.

Promoting various protein sources can be conducted through many national food consumption programs, such as the Makan Bergizi Gratis program. Implemented in January 2025, these programs aim to provide nutritious food to children in school with a balanced and healthy menu. This national program requires the collaboration of stakeholders, including the food industry, health practitioners, police, national armed forces, and non-government organisations.

Providing different menus could promote various kinds of protein based on local potential. For example, fish could be used as a protein source in coastal areas rather than meat or chicken. This program not only improves children's concentration and health metabolism, but also addresses food insecurity, specifically protein.

At the moment, the Indonesian government also faces a triple burden of malnutrition. Hence, the current policy still focuses on the average national intake of macro or micronutrients. However, it has not explicitly addressed protein qualities.

 A recommendation from the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) in 2022 addressed the issue of protein politics. They suggested a global focus on obtaining 'sustainable food systems' rather than 'protein transition' alone, which differs among world regions (IPES-Food, 2022).

The challenge is not only in data collection but also in the assessment, which mentions that the ratio of health practitioners, especially dietitians, in Indonesia is still far from enough. Furthermore, they cannot separate the indirect factors affecting nutritional status, such as childcare patterns, appropriate health environment, and family food security (Esa Unggul University, 2016), which, from a macro perspective, are affected by politics.

References (Harvard Style)

• Basri, C. (2024) Indonesia requires the right policies for rough times to lift its middling growth. East Asia Forum. Available at: https://eastasiaforum.org/2024/10/20/indonesia-requires-the-right-policies-for-rough-times-to-lift-its-middling-growth/ (Accessed: 15 April 2025).

• BPS (2023a) Average Daily Consumption of Calorie and Protein per Capita 1990–2024. Statistics Indonesia. Available at: https://www.bps.go.id/en/statistics-table/1/MTk4NiMx/average-daily-consumption-of-calorie-and-protein-per-capita-1990---2024.html (Accessed: 15 April 2025).

• BPS (2023b) Consumption of Calorie and Protein of Indonesia and Province, March 2023. Statistics Indonesia. Available at: https://www.bps.go.id/en/publication/2023/10/20/bc49f9e37fe51852b8b0115c/consumption-of-calorie-and-protein-of-indonesia-and-province-march-2023.html (Accessed: 15 April 2025).

• Esa Unggul University (2016) Undergraduate Thesis Library. Available at: https://digilib.esaunggul.ac.id/public/UEU-Undergraduate-1740-DAFTAR%20PUSTAKA.pdf (Accessed: 15 April 2025).

• FAO (2024) FAOSTAT Food Balance Sheets. Available at: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FBS (Accessed: 15 April 2025).

• IPES-Food (2022) The Politics of Protein. Available at: https://ipes-food.org/report-summary/the-politics-of-protein/ (Accessed: 15 April 2025).

• Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (2021) Consumption of Fish GDP Positively Correlated: Indonesian Minister. Antara News. Available at: https://en.antaranews.com/news/329134/consumption-of-fish-gdp-positively-correlated-indonesian-minister (Accessed: 15 April 2025).

• Mongabay Indonesia (2018) Ikan Tuna: Mahal dan Primadona Ekspor. Available at: https://www.mongabay.co.id/2018/09/04/ikan-tuna-mahal-dan-primadona-ekspor/ (Accessed: 15 April 2025).

• National Research Council (2005) Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. National Academies Press. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234922/ (Accessed: 15 April 2025).

• Neliti (2018) Persepsi Konsumen Terhadap Ikan dan Daging. Available at: https://media.neliti.com/media/publications/272080-none-9459c587.pdf (Accessed: 15 April 2025).

• Prabowo Subianto (2024) Asta Cita 2 – National Vision Document. Available at: https://prabowosubianto.com/asta-cita-2/ (Accessed: 15 April 2025).

• UNFPA (2019) Executive Summary on Population Ageing. Available at: https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/UNFPA-Exec-Summary.pdf (Accessed: 15 April 2025).

United Nations (2017) World Population Prospects 2017. Available at: https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/files/documents/2020/Jan/un_2017_world_population_prospects-2017_revision_databooklet.pdf (Accessed: 15 April 2025).