"The NFA and all parties are supporting, including regional governments," Head of NFA Arief Prasetyo Adi stated when contacted on Saturday.
The support provided in the food distribution is given in the form of subsidies or covering the logistics costs of food commodities from production centers that have abundant stocks to regions that lack stocks. This effort is aimed at maintaining the supply of food commodities in the region, so that the prices do not spike high.
According to Adi, the role of work units or offices that handle food in provinces, districts, and cities as partners of the National Food Agency in regions is vital and strategic.
"Of course, with other relevant stakeholders, we are collaborating and making a joint commitment to watch and control food inflation," he said.
He noted that actions to control food inflation must be made simultaneously in all provinces. Regional governments can play a role by giving support with the realization of compulsory social protection spending, one of which is the provision of subsidies for the public transport sector in the regions to be used as food logistics assistance.
He further highlighted the need for support from state-owned enterprises in the food sector, business players, associations, the distribution sector, and communities to synergize in curbing food inflation.
Earlier, food inflation stood at 10.32 percent in July and declined to 8.93 percent in August 2022. Despite the decline, food inflation of 8.93 percent caused the Consumer Price Index inflation in August 2022 to reach 4.69 percent.
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Translator: Aditya Ramadhan, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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