“This is not only aimed at resolving stunting issues but also empowering chicken and egg farmers,” Deputy for Food and Nutritional Insecurity at Bapanas Nyoto Suwignyo stated here on Friday.
Suwignyo remarked that the food assistance, under which each beneficiary receives 10 eggs and around 0.9 to 1 kg of frozen chicken meat, is not only aimed at meeting people’s nutritional needs but also supports farmers’ products to be absorbed by the market at good prices.
Suwignyo explained that under the program, state-run food holding ID FOOD plays the role of supplier for food production results as an effort of food downstreaming directed by President Joko Widodo to build a strong and sustainable food ecosystem.
He further explained that chickens and eggs from farmers are bought by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and then used for stunting handling efforts so as to foster a strong relationship between farmers and consumers.
"One strategy to help chicken and egg farmers is ensuring that their eggs and chickens are sold at good prices, so that the presence of SOEs is there, present as off-takers for chicken and egg farmers," he explained.
On the same occasion, President Director of ID FOOD Frans Marganda Tambunan expressed optimism that the food assistance would support the business continuity of small-scale independent farmers.
So far, more than 100 local farmer partners are partnering with ID FOOD as the supplier of chicken and eggs for families at risk of stunting.
“Through this program, ID FOOD will absorb eggs and chicken meat produced by small-scale independent farmers with good and stable prices in accordance with the retail price ceiling to maintain price certainty and stability at the farmers' level,” he remarked.
The second phase of food assistance in 2024 targets 1,446,089 families that are at risk of stunting in seven priority provinces: West Java, North Sumatra, Central Java, East Java, Banten, West Sulawesi, and East Nusa Tenggara.
Director of Commercial Affairs at ID FOOD Nina Sulistyo stated that for the assistance program, the budget prepared by the government for each period of distribution is Rp400 billion (around US$25.62 million).
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Translator: Andi Firdaus, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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