Government Provides Incentives For 2.44 Million Poor Farmers

JAKARTA - The government continues to encourage farmers to be able to return to planting after harvest. The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs will prepare incentives for 2.44 million poor category farmers in Indonesia, so that these farmers can continue to produce in the midst of the corona virus pandemic or COVID-19.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said the incentives were prepared in the form of direct cash assistance and agricultural production facilities. This incentive is projected to be given for three months.

Airlangga said the incentive that the government would provide was in the form of assistance worth IDR 600,000 per farmer. Of this amount, IDR 300,000 will be given in cash, while the remaining IDR 300,000 will be in the form of agricultural production facilities and infrastructure.

"The government sees that currently there is an urgency to provide incentives to poor farmers," he said, after a limited meeting on anticipating basic needs with President Joko Widodo via video conference, Tuesday, April 28.

However, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy could not disclose the technical details of the incentive provision. He only said that the technical incentive provision would be announced by the Minister of Agriculture

"The stimulus consists of seeds, fertilizers, and other agricultural production tools," he said.

For your information, the decision to provide incentives is a response to the wishes of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), who wanted economic stimulus to also target farmers.

"Make sure that the economic stimulus program actually reaches out to those related to our rice production, which means reaching our farmers," said Jokowi when he opened a closed meeting to discuss virtually anticipating basic needs at Bogor Palace, Tuesday, April 28.