Badanas Prepares Revision Of Presidential Regulation For Food Assistance To Fight Extreme Poverty

Head of Badanas Arief Prasetyo Adi (Photo: Mery Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - The National Food Agency (Bapanas) is preparing to revise Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 125 of 2022, for the sustainability of food assistance to overcome extreme poverty throughout Indonesia.

Head of Badanas Arief Prasetyo Adi said the revision of Presidential Decree (Number) 125 of 2022 regarding the Implementation of Government Food Reserves.

"So that the assignment to Bulog (food aid distribution to overcome extreme poverty), we can lock it in a forum regulation that has legal force," said Arief quoting Antara.

He conveyed that the revision of the Presidential Regulation would later become the basis for the sustainability of food assistance to be channeled in overcoming extreme poverty throughout Indonesia, when there is a new Head of Badanas or President Director of Perum Bulog.

"So whoever will become the Head of the National Food Agency and the President Director of Bulog, food assistance for the Targeting the Acceleration of the Elimination of Extreme Poverty (P3KE) must continue to be carried out," said Arief.

Arief also said that previously there were 74 vulnerable food-prone areas in districts/cities, which had now decreased to 68 in 2023.

He said the government continues to make three main efforts in fighting food insecurity, namely fulfilling food availability through nine basic commodities, affordability to basic commodities and food utilization.

"Regions prone to food in 2023 have dropped to 68 regencies/cities from 74 regencies/cities," he said.

Previously, the Head of Badanas, Arief Prasetyo Adi, assessed that the 10-kilogram rice food assistance disbursed by the government was very much needed by the community, especially those with low income.

He said rice food assistance is a government program in the form of distributing rice to beneficiary families (KPM).

The program is one of the utilization of government rice reserves (CBP) in accordance with the mandate of Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 125 of 2022 concerning Management of Government Food Reserves.

The assistance was given to the low-income community, namely KPM based on data on the Monitoring of the Acceleration of the Elimination of Extreme Poverty (P3KE) of the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture. The amount of assistance is 10 kg of rice per KPM per month.

This assistance has been provided since early 2023, and continues in 2024. 10 kg rice food assistance in 2024 is distributed from January to March to 22 million KPM based on P3KE Data from the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture. The assistance was then extended to phase two, April to June 2024.