President: BLT El Nino Helps Buying Power For Climate-affected Communities

President Joko Widodo greeted the beneficiaries of BLT El Nino at the Malang Post Office, East Java, Thursday (14/12/2023). (ANTARA/HO-Biro Press of the Presidential Secretariat RI)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) distributed direct cash assistance (BLT) El Nino in Malang City, East Java, to help increase people's purchasing power which is facing price increases due to climate change.

"With climate change, there is a heat wave so that rice production decreases, because rice production decreases prices to increase slightly," Jokowi said during a dialogue with the beneficiaries of the aid, reported by ANTARA, Thursday, December 14.

BLT El Nino was given to beneficiaries worth IDR 400 thousand for two months of aid allocation, which was given at once in December.

The President had asked the beneficiaries who attended what the assistance was for, and many of the people answered that they used the BLT to buy groceries.

The beneficiaries who were present on the occasion were also recipients of the government's rice reserve food assistance (CBP).

The President then said that CBP food assistance would be continued by the government until March 2024.

"This is also the recipient of 10 kilos of rice? Which September, October, November, December has been received? Need I say that it will be continued in January, February, March 2024," he said.

The President also conveyed to the public that the CBP food aid period would be extended again by the government if the APBN was sufficient.

"If later our APBN is sufficient, it will be extended again," he said.