"This year, we continue to push chili farming in various villages," Second Assistant of the Biak Numfor Secretary for Economy and Development Lot Jensenem said.
Growing the one million chili plants is aimed at helping the government control the inflation rate, and improve households' income, he said.
To this end, locals are encouraged to join the movement for growing one million chili plants, Lot Jensenem said, adding that the government has collaborated with related agencies to supply the chili seeds.
"The Biak Numfor district government has provided (those wanting to join the movement with) chili seeds and fertilizer," he added.
During a hearing session with members of the House of Representatives (DPR) on September 1, 2022, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati had highlighted the importance of developing domestically harvested commodities.
One of the commodities that Indrawati highlighted to help reduce the inflation rate in volatile food prices in August 2022 was chili.
"The rate used to increase to 11 percent, and now, it decreased to eight percent. An analysis showed that food commodities helped lower the percentage," she noted at the hearing session.
Volatile prices in August 2022 experienced an inflation of 8.93 percent on an annual basis while on a monthly basis experienced a deflation of 2.9 percent, she remarked.
This realization decreased as compared to July 2022, specifically volatile prices on an annual basis that recorded an inflation of 11.47 percent and contributed to the overall inflation of 4.94 percent (yoy) of 0.25 percent, Indrawati added.
She noted that this decline showed an increase in inflation caused by volatile food that was highly dependent on global conditions.
On the other hand, the volatile food factor can be controlled relatively quickly, especially in terms of chili commodities, Indrawati remarked.
She explained that most of the commodities can be produced domestically at affordable prices, with sufficient quantities to stabilize prices.
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Translator: Muhsidin, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Anton Santoso
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