Does social food aid reduce the prevalence of undernourishment? Evidence from Indonesia using panel GMM approach

Abstract In recent years, the world has been facing the challenges of food crisis due to climate change, global economic crisis, conflicts, and environmental degradation that disrupt food supply chains amidst a growing population. Indonesia has been facing the threat of food insecurity as evidenced by the increasing prevalence of undernourishment, which reflects the decreasing level of human security (safety from the threat of chronic diseases). This study aims to evaluate the effect of social food aid on the prevalence of undernourishment in Indonesia using panel data from 34 provinces from 2018-2023. The methodology used is the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) with first difference GMM and System GMM estimators. Some socio-economic variables were also used, they are rice production, consumer price index, unemployment rate, and people’s purchasing power. Empirical results show that social food aid and people’s purchasing power negatively affect the prevalence of undernourishment. Meanwhile, the consumer price index and the unemployment rate have a positive effect. Therefore, the importance of accurate targeting through accurate recipient data, increased transparency and accountability of aid distribution, and optimization of logistics distribution through the collaboration of various parties. Periodic evaluation of the program should also be conducted to ensure continuous improvement and policy effectiveness.