The Progress Of The Second Phase Of Rice Food Aid Has Been 59 Percent

Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi said the second phase of rice food assistance had been distributed to more than 59 percent.

Arief said, this food assistance is the government's effort to maintain the stabilization of food prices so that people's purchasing power and food inflation remain under control.

"Currently, the second phase of food assistance has been distributed reaching 59.89 percent. So it is hoped that it can function as a cushion whose existence is very important to maintain people's purchasing power, especially for 21.3 million Beneficiary Groups (KPM)," he said in a statement in Jakarta, Tuesday, September 26.

Furthermore, Arief revealed, since it was first launched on September 11, 2023 to September 23, 2023, the second phase of rice food assistance has been distributed as much as 120,275 tons, namely 59.89 percent for September's allocation in 38 provinces.

"According to the direction of the President, this intervention effort must continue to be carried out to maintain people's purchasing power, especially low-income people and reduce the rate of rice price increases. Of course this will have an impact on controlling inflation," he said.

Furthermore, in the context of stabilizing rice prices and anticipating continued price increases at the consumer level, the Food Agency also continues to encourage the acceleration of the distribution of 784,000 tons of SPHP rice through SIGAP SPHP.

Then also the distribution of government rice reserves in the Cipinang Rice Main Market with a total target of 4,500 tons and a low-cost food movement which also continues to be intensified in various regions.

He admitted that this food aid had been carried out for the next three months to give priority to our brothers and sisters, people who really needed rice assistance immediately.

"Then this cheap food movement will also continue to be implemented and in the market it will also be disbursed both in PIBC as a national barometer and traditional and modern market so that later it will provide consumer alternatives to buy SPHP rice at a price of 10,900 per kg," he explained.

The intervention steps taken by the Food Agency together with Perum Bulog by flooding PIBC with Bulog rice stocks have an impact on the gradual downward trend in the price of medium rice (IR 64 III) as of September 22, 2023, touching the price of Rp. 11,861 per kg.

BPS data stated that in August 2023, Rice contributed the largest inflation of 0.05 percent and cumulatively, until August 2023, rice experienced inflation of 7.99 percent (August, y-to-d).

"The current condition is that almost all countries have experienced an increase in food prices, but Indonesia is one that is still under control, this is what we must protect together," said Arief.

This rice food aid will be disbursed for three months, namely September, October, and November 2023, and each KPM gets 10 kg of rice in three distributions.

The total rice food aid disbursed reached 640,000 tons.

Arief hopes that the distribution of this rice food aid can be distributed according to the target to put pressure on rice prices in the market and be able to control the inflation rate nationally.