The supplies of the 100 tons of rice were funded by the government, Bulog-Papua and West Papua Office's Operational Manager for Public Services Muh.Yusri Muin said in a statement that ANTARA quoted here Sunday.
"The government has funded and prepared everything needed in disaster mitigation. Thus, if a disaster occurs, we are ready around the clock to supply the rice," he said.
The government has actually prepared 200 tons of rice assistance to anticipate the impact of disaster on food security in Papua and West Papua as well as in three new provinces, he said.
The rice assistance would be supplied soon after the regional authorities whose administrative areas experienced catastrophes, Muin added.
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Meanwhile, at a recent hearing session with the House of Representatives' (DPR's) Commission IV overseeing agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and food production in Jakarta, Bulog President Director Budi Waseso elaborated his agency's 2023 operational planning.
According to Waseso, Bulog has set a target of providing 1,112,050 tons of grains/rice from local farmers and fulfilling the government's rice reserve stock of 1.3 million tons.
The agency has also planned to distribute 1,015,000 tons of rice for the program of availability of supplies and price stabilization (KPSH), disaster, he stated.
In 2023, Bulog will also distribute 150 thousand tons of soybean and 50 thousand tons of corn for the government's Public Service Obligation (PSO) Program as well as 350 thousand tons of commercial rice, he said.
The hearing session was also attended by National Food Agency (NFA) Head Arief Prasetyo Adi, president directors of state-owned staple food company PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia and state-owned fertilizer holding firm PT Pupuk Indonesia.
At the hearing session, Adi disclosed that the NFA had commenced the implementation of a rice strategy to ensure sustainable food security by collaborating with the related ministries.
The collaborative strategy has been implemented to enable Bulog to secure rice stocks from local producers at a new equilibrium price, he said.
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Translator: Ardiles L, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
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