"You must have heard the United Nations secretary-general say that the world is on the 'highway to climate hell'. The temperature of the planet's surface is forecast to hit its highest record in the next five years. You should be wary," he told regional leaders.
Speaking at the National Coordination Meeting on Inflation Control in Jakarta on Friday, Jokowi remarked that Indonesia had been experiencing increased temperatures since last year while drawing attention to the record-breaking 50 degrees and 45.8 degrees Celsius recorded, respectively, in India and Myanmar.
Moreover, he said the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) had cautioned about an impending worldwide famine by 2050 in the absence of the requisite actions to combat rising temperatures. "It is predicted that 50 million farmers will face shortages of water, which, in turn, will result in food scarcity. We cannot afford to downplay matters related to drought and heatwaves," he pointed out.
According to the head of state, such a condition might push up Indonesia's national inflation rate, which is currently at a preferred figure of 2.84 percent.
"Rising temperatures coupled with the neglect of water issues could lead to a decline in production rates and stocks of commodities. This situation will then lead to soaring prices," he highlighted.
Bearing all that in mind, the president instructed all stakeholders to promptly take anticipatory measures, including installing 20 thousand water pumps that are connected to agricultural lands, with a special focus on rice fields.
"It is necessary to use the pumps for channeling water from rivers, regardless of their size, to rice fields. We need to make the most of all water resources instead of letting them all flow into oceans," he emphasized.
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Translator: Andi F, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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