BPS: Poor Population In Papua Increases 0.16 Percent

JAKARTA - The Papua Province Central Statistics Agency (BPS) stated that the percentage of poor people in the region over the past six months has increased by 0.16 percent, from 26.64 percent in March 2020 to 26.80 percent in September 2020.

Head of the Papua Province BPS, Adriana Helena Carolina in Jayapura, Monday, February 15, said the percentage of poor people in Papua for urban areas had increased by 0.12 percentage points to 4.59 percent (4.47 percent in March 2020), and rural areas increased by 0.19 percentage points to 35.69 percent (35.50 percent in March 2020).

"The role of food commodities on the poverty line is much greater than the role of non-food commodities, both urban and rural areas", she said, quoted from Antara.

According to Adriana, in September 2020 the food poverty line contribution to the urban poverty line was 67.40 percent, while in rural areas it was 78.80 percent.

"Food commodities that have a major effect on the poverty line of Papua Province in urban areas are rice, filter clove cigarettes, mackerel, eggs, and cakes, then food commodities that have a major effect on the poverty line in rural areas are yams or sweet potatoes, rice, filter clove cigarettes, cassava, and cassava leaves", he said.

He explained that in the period March 2020-September 2020, the Poverty Depth Index (P1) and the Poverty Severity Index (P2) showed an upward trend, which indicates that the average expenditure of the poor tends to move away from the poverty line and inequality between the poor is increasing. compared to the previous period.

"Several factors were related to the poverty rate during the March 2020-September 2020 period, including the Papuan economy in the third quarter of 2020 which contracted by minus 2.61 percent (year on year)", she said.

She added that apart from that the Open Unemployment Rate (TPT) in August 2020 was 4.28 percent, an increase compared to the conditions in August the previous year, then according to Bank Indonesia, Papua Province, there was a decrease in people's purchasing power, which was caused by a decrease in economic activity in Papua Province and realization of Social Cash Assistance (BST) in Papua Province was only 65.2 percent.

"The distribution of Village Funds for the third phase of 2020 has been delayed, in which 13.05 percent of villages have received village funds, this has resulted in the distribution of the Village Fund-Direct Cash Assistance (BLT) to experience delays, also the distribution of basic food programs in Papua Province has only reached 59.5 percent, while other provinces in Indonesia have reached more than 85 percent", she said.

Not only that, the population of Papua in the first and third decile expenditures has increased, this is probably because the population with the lowest expenditure levels during the pandemic only bought necessities at retail at a much higher price, and in smaller quantities.

And in early September 2020, the City of Jayapura implemented a new normal, but within the next two weeks, the cases of the positive population of COVID-19 increased rapidly, which indirectly had an impact on the economy of the people in Jayapura City.