With the program rolling out, tomatoes, chilies, and shallots will be planted in the land of offices in the West Java Provincial Government, such as Sate Building, Pakuan Building, and the OPD office, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil stated.
"Starting on August 19, all lands in the West Java Provincial Government office will be planted with agricultural crops, including my house, Pakuan Building, and residential places of high-ranking officers," he noted in Bandung on Wednesday.
In addition, the public was urged to plant chili, shallots, and tomatoes in their respective yards as a form of realization of the West Java Urban Farming Program.
According to Kamil, the West Java Urban Farming Program is the regional government's efforts to control the fluctuating prices of food commodities and suppress inflation as well as support economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Currently, West Java's economic growth in this semester is at 5.6 percent, with inflation of 4.94 percent but is still lower than the growth figure, Kamil noted.
"If inflation is lower than our growth, it is still safe. If inflation is higher than the percentage growth, then it is a problem for us," he affirmed.
However, the regional government continues to take preventive measures on account of supply disruptions triggered by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as well as the ongoing pandemic.
He said the West Java provincial government has readied an economic recovery scheme for the short and long term.
"In the short term, we will be controlling commodities with fluctuating prices. That is why we initiated West Java Urban Farming to grow these commodities at home," he explained.
Later, the three types of vegetables planted by residents in their yards through this program will be purchased by the regional-owned enterprises (BUMD).
"We hope to be able to control the shortages that have been regulated by the market. Hopefully, this West Java Urban Farming Program would change the urban farming method from the previous era," he added.
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Translator: Ajat Sudrajat, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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