Ahead Of Eid, The Government Ensures Safe Food Stock And Prices

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hatarto (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - The government ensures that food supplies ahead of Eid Al-Fitr 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic are safe. The government also ensures that the price of basic commodities is controlled or affordable by the community.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hatarto said, for several commodities the price was fixed or stable. Even if there is an increase or decrease in price it is not significant.

He said several commodities received special attention, such as sugar and onions. The price of white sugar in the market reaches IDR 17,000- IDR 17,500, it should be IDR 12,500. Meanwhile, the price of onions is around 51,950 / kg, even though the reference is IDR 32,000.

"Regarding the price of sugar, there are several imports that are scheduled to be delayed, because there are several countries that have implemented a lockdown. However, we will also divert refined sugar to the market, so that prices can be pushed down. For garlic, the import plan has entered the field based on existing data. For shallots, there is no plan for imports, because there are regions in Indonesia that are capable of large production, "Airlangga was quoted as saying on Thursday, May 14.

Then, he said, in April 2020 based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) there was food deflation of 0.13%, and this shows that demand is decreasing. However, inflation for foodstuffs in April 2020, which amounted to 5.04%, was higher than inflation in the same period last year which was 2.29%.

"So, this is a distribution issue that needs to be pushed (from production centers to consumers). I also want to remind (people) who take advantage of the situation (to raise food prices) have been monitored by the Food Task Force, including the matter of sugar auctions, "he said.

Anticipating the Food Crisis Due to COVID-19

On the same occasion, the Chairman of the Golkar Party, also revealed the government's steps to anticipate a warning from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) about the possibility of a food crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The step taken is that the government plans to open new rice fields.

For this reason, the government will conduct a case study in the designated areas within the next three weeks. The area of rice fields that could potentially be developed is approximately more than 255 thousand hectares (ha) located in Central Kalimantan.

"However, the focus in the next 3 weeks is a land of 164,598 ha, of which 85,456 ha already has an irrigation network, and there are around 57,195 ha that have been planting rice by transmigrant families there. there is a potential for extensification of 79,142 ha, "said Airlangga.

The next step is a Strategic Environmental Assessment (KLHS), then a review of the Inventory of Control, Ownership, Use and Utilization of land (IP4T) will be carried out, as well as a study of the availability of labor in that location.

Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo added that his party was ready to carry out the study process for the next 3 weeks. After being reviewed, the Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) is ready to handle the development of this land, particularly peat-prone areas covering an area of 164 thousand ha.

"In the first phase in 2020, we will concentrate on (an area of) 164 thousand ha first, because handling swamps requires extra power. It is not like rice fields in Java or lowlands / mountains, it needs special attention. This is done while awaiting the maturation of the 250-300 thousand ha land which still has the potential to be developed, "he said.

In developing the land, said the Minister of Agriculture, we must also pay attention to the problem of land ownership and the availability of human resources, namely the farmers who will cultivate it. According to him, for an area of 1 (one) ha, a minimum of 2-3 farmers is needed, so for an area of 100 thousand ha, there must be around 300 thousand farmers resettled there.

“Learning from past failures is that we lack farmers there, so after the land invasion is over, the farmer leaves one season, so the land is left behind again. Therefore, we hope that under the coordination of the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy, we will prepare more thoroughly, and will also coordinate with local governments, particularly the Manpower and Transmigration Office, "said the Minister of Agriculture.