Supporting private sector partners to scale up rice fortification.
December 2022 - June 2023
Together with TechnoServe, we are helping to establish an enabling environment to support the scale- up and sustainability of large-scale rice fortification in Indonesia.
The government of Indonesia has embraced fortification as a solution to population-level micronutrient deficiencies.
In Indonesia, anaemia rates are high across all population groups. Nearly half of pregnant women, 32% of adolescents and 39% of children under five are anaemic. Rice consumption is high across the country but, because most rice is milled by small-scale millers, mandatory market-based fortification is a challenge. Instead, the Government of Indonesia is looking to introduce fortified rice through its social safety net programs, primarily the SEMBAKO program, and make it available to all program beneficiaries by 2024.
At the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit, large-scale food fortification was presented as a game-changer, with the potential to benefit nearly half of the world’s population. Currently, more than 140 countries mandate at least one form of food fortification, indicating widespread support for the program.
Institutionalizing mandatory rice fortification in Indonesia.
In collaboration with TechnoServe, we are providing technical assistance to private sector actors involved in large-scale food fortification. We are focusing on innovation in governance, quality, and profitability to ensure that food companies are fortifying rice adequately.
Working directly with private sector players in rice fortification in Indonesia, we are working to strengthen and improve the enabling environment for food fortification, including integrating food fortification into business practices and creating accountability within the industry. These efforts build on the longstanding support Nutrition International has provided to wheat flour fortification in Indonesia with funding from the Government of Canada.
The impact
Strengthening the enabling environment for large-scale food fortification in Indonesia.
Sustaining the gains that have already been achieved by earlier fortification projects, this project will improve the overall enabling environment for rice fortification in Indonesia. Improved access to fortified staple foods will ensure that the population of Indonesia has better access to the nutrition it needs.
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