Coordinating Minister For Food Affirms The Price Of Grain From Farmers Cannot Be Purchased Below IDR 6,500 Per Kg

BANJARMASIN - The price of unhulled rice from farmers should not be purchased under the Government Purchase Price (HPP), which is IDR 6,500 per kg. This was emphasized by the Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan.

"If the price of unhulled rice is below the HPP, Bulog will buy a grain directly to farmers of Rp. 6,500 per kg," he said during a dialogue with farmers in Danda Jaya Village, Batola Regency, South Kalimantan, as reported by ANTARA, Saturday, February 8.

He said the HPP of IDR 6,500 for this unhulled rice must be escorted so as not to disappoint farmers in Indonesia, including South Kalimantan.

"So we have ordered the governors, Bulog, Village Heads, Regents, TNI and Polri to guard against disappointing farmers. Farmers also buy the unhulled rice below IDR 6,500 immediately report it to the police for inspection," he said.

He stated that this step was taken to prosper farmers, as well as maintain grain so as not to fall when the harvest period arrives.

"Because the government has decided that the unhulled rice must be purchased for Rp6,500, this is a big job because of the main harvest," he said.

That way, he continued, farmers can benefit in this year's harvest season.

"Therefore, the regent, village head and village assistant, we will control together, we have to buy Rp6,500," he said.

South Kalimantan Governor H Muhidin said he was proud and pleased with the presence of the Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan to review and see firsthand agricultural land in his province which will later harvest the main harvest in March 2025.

"Alhamdulillah, the Coordinating Minister is here, and Danda Jaya Village, Batola Regency can harvest the highway in March, which is in accordance with the time we planted yesterday," he said.

According to him, the existence of a rice absorption contract with a cellphone of Rp. 6,500 per kg can be the spirit of farmers to maintain food security as much as possible, especially since Barito Kuala is the mainstay of South Kalimantan as a rice surplus area.

"Hopefully the farmers will continue to be enthusiastic and South Kalimantan will remain in surplus with the program in Barito Kuala, namely optimizing the land by increasing the planting once to 2 times," he said.

The visit of the Coordinating Minister for Food was also attended by DPR members Khairul Saleh, Endang Agustina and Sudian Noor and the Head of the South Kalimantan Agriculture and Food Security Service, Syamsir Rahman, Acting Regent of Barito Kuala, Diansyah, Deputy Chair of the Batola Regency DPRD, Harmuni and representatives of the TNI/Polri.