Heat Up Commitments To Improve The Welfare Of Farmers And Breeders

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi emphasized that his party is committed to continuing to improve the welfare of farmers and breeders when carrying out their function as food stabilizers from upstream to downstream.

"President Joko Widodo has directed us so that the prices of staple food can be conditioned so that they are always good and reasonable, from farmers and breeders to the community. This is what the National Food Agency continues to do, including the welfare of farmers and breeders," said Arief in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Wednesday, July 17.

Arief said that in carrying out its function as a food stabilizer, Bapanas consistently puts great attention on balance from upstream to downstream sectors.

He explained, from the upstream side, the interests of producers such as farmers and breeders related to reference prices and the sustainability of production activities are fundamental aspects that continue to be supported. However, in the downstream sector, namely good and reasonable prices for consumers must also be created.

According to him, if farmers and breeders are more prosperous, the spirit of food production will increase. National food security, which is supported by domestic production, can also be realized.

"This is because we want Indonesian food to continue to prioritize the results of our own efforts, so that the interests of all farmers and breeders are always the attention of the National Food Agency," explained Arief.

He said, one indicator of the welfare of farmers and breeders can be seen from the farmer exchange rate index (NTP), especially the food crop sub-sector or the food crop farmer exchange rate (NTPP) and the livestock sub-sector or farmer exchange rate (NTPT).

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the highest NTPP in the last 18 months was recorded in February 2024 which was at 120.30 points.

Most recently, in June 2024, the condition of food crop farmers, especially the rice group, has increased significantly by 2.37 points. This refers to the price index received by rice group farmers which was at 130.74 compared to the previous month at 127.71.

Arief said that the government through Bapanas in early June officially determined the implementation of the purchase price of the government (HPP) of unhulled rice and rice through the Regulation of the National Food Agency (Perbadan) Number 4 of 2024 concerning Amendments to the Entity 6 of 2023 concerning the Purchase Price of Government and Rice Price Rate.

With this HPP, prices in farmers can be maintained and BPS noted that in June 2024, the average price of Harvested Dry Grain (GKP) of water levels was 19.68 percent at the farmer level at a price of Rp. 6,171 per kilogram (kg).

"We can't let poultry farmers go. When last year's feed corn fluctuated due to limited production, we poured the feed corn SPHP program with Perum Bulog to support the sustainability of poultry farmers," explained Arief.

According to him, this is important because in addition to feed corn is very important for them, it is also in order to maintain the stability of egg and chicken commodities that can be affected, if poultry farming is volatile.

In addition, the realization of the distribution of the Food Supply and Price Stabilization program (SPHP) for feed corn until April 2024 has reached 303,000 tons. The areas of poultry breeders who receive the benefits of this program are spread across 18 provinces.

Badanas also supports the mobilization of corn from farmers from West Nusa Tenggara to poultry farmers carried out by Business to Business (B2B).

The B2B scheme was carried out with Bulog in collaboration with a group of poultry breeders in Blitar, East Java. From May to June, the realization had 1,898 tons, with details of corn from Bima 1,505.2 tons and Dompu 392.7 tons.

With these various supports, continued Arief, the NTPT index has been maintained above 100 points since March 2023. The highest index is in June 2024 which is at 104.81. The NTPT comes from a group of breeders consisting of poultry, large livestock, small livestock, and livestock.

Especially for the poultry farmer index, judging from the price index received, it is still at a fairly good level. In June 2024, as reported by BPS, the index was at 122.61. This figure is higher than the beginning of 2024 which was at 115.68.

"Meanwhile, the peak price index received by poultry farmers was recorded in April 2024 at 124.88 points. This achievement is the highest in the last 18 months," said Arief.