Head of the Provincial Agriculture, Food, Marine, and Fisheries Office, Absalom Solossa, remarked here on Wednesday that the chili planting movement is part of the government's efforts to build public awareness to take part in reducing the inflation rate.
"The current price of chili per kg ranges from Rp40 thousand to Rp60 thousand, so we conduct chili planting to anticipate the condition," he explained.
The 10 thousand chili plants will be divided evenly into five districts and one city in the province and will then be shared with the communities.
Recipients of the chili plants have been listed by the local governments.
In addition to the chili planting movement, Solossa said his side will coordinate with the local agriculture office in each region to help monitor the planting process and ensure that the trees grow well and produce optimal harvests.
"Every month, we will cooperate with the agriculture office in each region to assist and monitor the farmers, so that the chili crops can produce well," he explained.
He also expressed optimism that the village chiefs and local community heads would pick a piece of land for chili planting, so that the activity is focused on one area.
"Hence, there is positive competition between every village and community in the regions, and if this is successful, the Acting Governor of Southwest Papua will come down to harvest the chilis," he remarked.
Earlier, Acting Head of Statistics Indonesia (BPS) - West Papua branch, Lasmi, stated that Manokwari, West Papua, recorded an inflation rate of 1.43 percent, and Sorong City, Southwest Papua, experienced inflation of 0.18 percent in July 2023.
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Translator: Yuvensius B, Kenzu
Editor: Sri Haryati
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