Many people reminisce about or associate a certain period of their life with the price of rice at that particular time, especially when the rice price skyrocketed. The wife of a factory worker recollects: "Then, my husband's salary was hardly enough to buy 25kg of rice. How could we possibly survive?"

Also people's protest "Lower the rice price !!!" is still heard from time to time when the economic burden becomes unbearable. All of this is because rice is the most important staple food for Indonesians. It's not surprising that rice issues not only encompass an economic dimension, but also social, cultural and political dimensions.

This edition highlights various facets of rice issues, from the Raskin program (Rice for the Poor), arguments for and against raising the rice tariff, the complications of rice price policy, the limited role of local governments in decision making processes surrounding rice policies, to the powerlessness of rice farmers.