Government assures farmers that rice imports will not have a negative impact
Published on: March 4, 2024.
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Rice Import Policy to Safeguard Government Reserves
The National Food Agency (Bapanas) reassured that the rice import policy will not negatively impact national farmers as it aims to strengthen government reserves rather than directly distribute imported rice to the markets. Rachmi Widiriani, the director of distribution and food reserves at Bapanas, emphasized this during an online event titled “Preparing for Ramadan, Conditions of Prices of Staples.” State-owned logistics company Bulog has been assigned the task of managing the circulation of imported rice.
During the harvesting period, Bulog is responsible for purchasing rice stocks from domestic farmers to maintain a favorable exchange rate for them. Widiriani stated that it is the government’s duty to ensure that farmers profit from their harvest while also fulfilling the food needs of the people. Thus, the government aims to avoid relying solely on imports, which would have a negative impact on farmers.
To prevent a rice shortage in the country, the government decided to import an additional 1.6 million tons of rice on February 27, 2024. Arief Prasetyo Adi, the head of Bapanas, explained that this import is a precautionary measure to secure sufficient rice stocks for reserves and to prevent potential shortages caused by production disruptions due to weather and pests. The goal is to meet the national demand of approximately 2.5 million tons of rice per month.
Furthermore, President Joko Widodo approved a plan to double the quantity of subsidized fertilizers from 4.7 million tons to 9.55 million tons in 2024. This increase aims to boost the productivity of crop farmers in the country.
Source: https://en.antaranews.com
