"Villages must not face food security problems. All villagers must get security and comfort guarantees," he remarked at the 2022 Nusantara Tourism Village Promotion Competition launch event followed online here on Monday.
Iskandar emphasized that villages should not encounter food problems despite the world reeling from a food crisis.
"The key is to maximally utilize village funds for food security programs and productive programs related to food," he affirmed.
Based on data from the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration, as of July 12, 2022, some Rp34.72 trillion, or 51.35 percent, of the village funds had been distributed to villages. As much as Rp5.95 trillion of the village funds had been diverted for food security.
"Mr President (Joko Widodo) constantly reminds us regarding the food problems that are now affecting the world. Hopefully, with food security in villages, Indonesia will not suffer like other countries," Iskandar remarked.
Earlier, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan noted that village heads and officials are the agents of change in development, including in maintaining Indonesia's economic resilience.
"This is because village heads and officials participate in maintaining Indonesia's economic and food security," the minister remarked while giving directions to the administrators of the Indonesian Village Government Association (APDESI) of Bengkulu Province.
He explained that Indonesia's economic resilience could not be separated from the role of village economic transformation, which is the result of increasing the allocation of village funds.
According to Pandjaitan, transformation of the village economy is the result of the role of village heads, as the agents of change, at the lower levels. Village heads have an essential role to play in conveying the aspirations of the community.
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Translator: Zubi Mahrofi, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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