Head Of Badanas: Food Social Assistance Proven To Be Able To Reduce The Increase In Goods And Services Prices

Illustration. Distribution of CBP rice in the second phase of the food social assistance program (bansos) at the Sudagaran Village Hall, Banyumas Regency, Central Java, Monday 11 September 2023. (ANTARA-Sumarwoto)

JAKARTA - Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas)/National Food Agency (NFA) Arief Prasetyo Adi said the food social assistance (bansos) provided by the government to the public has proven to be able to reduce the increase in the price of goods and services or inflation. For this year, year on year (YoY) inflation is maintained well in the range of 2.8 percent.

Arief considered this very good to continue to encourage domestic economic growth according to the direction of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). Bank Indonesia itself estimates that economic growth in 2023 is in the range of 4.4-5.3 percent.

"It is proven that our inflation is very good 2.8 percent, which is not much achieved by other countries in the world and our economic growth above it (infection). The President always emphasizes that economic growth must be above inflation," said Arief during a discussion at the Media Center Indonesia Maju with the theme 'Indonesia Towards Food Sovereignty', in a written statement, Friday, December 22.

Arief explained that food assistance programs are also implemented by other countries in the world, not only Indonesia. He also told a number of obstacles faced.

With Indonesia's geographical condition as an archipelagic country, he continued, it is much more difficult to distribute the food aid. Arief said this condition is very different from other countries.

"In Indonesia, it is even more unique because of archipelagic countries. More than 17,000 islands, we have carried out food assistance at more than 1.5 million GPM points ( Cheap Food Movements) and this is indeed the only one in the world because other countries cannot be simultaneously rich in us," he said.

Arief also explained that the government continues to innovate related to food assistance in order to provide a multiplier effect.

Meanwhile, through this food assistance, said Arief, President Jokowi wants to absorb the harvest of local farmers and breeders to be purchased by state-owned enterprises (BUMN) in the food sector.

"So this is not used money, money is lost. Purchased at a good price then stored into CPP or Government Food Reserves," he said.

"So today's farmers' friends are very happy every time they go to the fields with the President buying more than Rp. 7,000, the price of dry unhulled rice is ready for harvest, so it can be seen that NTP (Agricultural Exchange Rate) is high above 113 percent. In the past 95.28 percent, now 113-114 percent," continued the former President Director of PT. Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (RNI).

Furthermore, Arief added, this food assistance program aims to eradicate poverty, reduce stunting to malnutrition.

"This is a form of government attention to the lower class society or decile one which is a family with a low welfare level," he said.

Previously, presidential candidate number 1, Anies Baswedan said that social assistance is not a solution to solving the community from poverty problems. Anies said that overcoming poverty should be done with improving economic policies.

"We solve the problem of poverty, we are left behind not through social assistance, but by adding it to the market. That's why, try to imagine if we clean up agricultural trading procedures, farmers don't need to receive social assistance because their income is enough to live," he said at the Apindo Candidate 2024 Dialogue event in Jakarta recently.