Domestic rice management is key to anticipating and mitigating the food crisis the FAO has predicted in recent months.Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said rice management is key to anticipating and mitigating any food crisis in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Domestic rice management is the key to anticipating and mitigating the food crisis the FAO has predicted in recent months," he said in a limited meeting held via video conferencing at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, on Tuesday.
The President asked officials to carry out a detailed assessment of the nation’s rice stocks by computing stocks available with the public, rice millers, and warehouses, including those with the National Logistics Agency (Bulog).
"We hope the grand harvest has reached its peak in April. According to the report on our rice production I received yesterday, it (rice harvest) could reach 5.62 million tons. This is very good," he remarked.
The Head of State further asked the Bulog to buy unhusked rice from farmers by offering fair and flexible price incentives.
He also asked officials to calculate the nation’s rice needs in the event of a drought this year.
Although the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has forecast that the country will not experience extreme weather this year, the nation must always stay alert, particularly when it comes to national rice stocks, the President said. (INE)
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Translator: Rangga Pandu Asmara Jingga/Suh
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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