Anticipating Elnino's Impact, The National Food Agency Strengthens CPP Stock

JAKARTA The government through the National Food Agency has prepared a number of steps to anticipate the impact of elnino on national food security. One of them is through strengthening the Government's Food Reserve (CPP) stock as an instrument for price stabilization and emergency conditions.

Head of the National Food Agency Arief Prasetyo Adi said that strengthening the availability of food stocks managed by the government is the key to the implementation of national food governance is strong, planned, and anticipatory.

"Talking about elnino, it means we are talking about anticipatory measures, because according to the BMKG (BMKG Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency) the impact of elnino affects the agricultural sector, especially food crops a season that rely heavily on water," he said in an official statement, Tuesday, June 13.

Therefore, Arief said this condition needs to be anticipated so that there is no crop failure that has an impact on the food crisis.

Arief said that currently the implementation of CPP has been running for 11 strategic food commodities, such as rice, corn, soybeans, onions, chilies, ruminant meat, chicken meat, chicken eggs, sugar, cooking oil, and fish. In accordance with Presidential Regulation 125 regarding the implementation of CPP.

These 11 strategic food commodities must be secured in stock and availability as CPP. However, in its implementation, some of our commodities have broken more specifically, such as onions to red and white onions, as well as ruminant meat into beef and buffalo. The more detailed, the better the implementation of CPP is done," he explained.

For rice, Arief added, Perum Buloh as of June 9, 2023 has a rice reserve stock of 546,000 tons and a commercial rice of 55 thousand tons, bringing the total Bulog stock to around 601,000 tons. In order to increase stock, Bulog continues to boost the intensity of absorption of domestically produced rice.

We continue to encourage rice absorption before entering the first semester of 2023, the goal is to secure Bulog's operational stock. In addition, it is also necessary to secure contracts and realization for 2023, so that if stock procurement is carried out again, it has taken into account the forecast of the distribution post and the stock target at the end of the year," he threaded.

Arief ensured that the CPP stock planning and monitoring activities were carried out not only on rice, but also on all food commodities whose management was in Bulog.

In addition to rice, said Arief, Bulog received an assignment to prepare CPP for corn and soybean commodities.

"According to the mandate of the Presidential Decree, Bulog is assigned to manage CPP, especially related to rice, corn, soybean commodities. So, then we propose the implementation of the Padi, Corn and Soybean Supply and Price Stabilization (SPHP) program as a complete package for food stabilization in 2023. This activity is also to be included in the Elnino prevention instrument group on the downstream side," he added.

As for other commodities, the stock of CPP sugar currently owned by BUMN Food ID FOOD, Bulog, and PTPN is 123,000 tons, and for ruminansia meat CPP stock is 7.8 thousand tons.

"We continue to monitor and update the CPP stock regularly, so that we can immediately make the right decision if necessary to intervene to maintain stabilization and anticipate emergency conditions," he said.

In implementing this CPP stock, he said, the National Food Agency refers to simulations and plans for the national food stock budget or CPP for a one-year period.

"In the draft, we have mapped each commodity. For example, for which rice is the executor of the Food SOE, what is the annual national requirement, what percentage of the stock will be allocated to the CPP, what is the target of the CPP stock, how much is the cost per Kg and the total budget for a year and every 3 months, then who and what is the distribution target like," he explained.