President Director Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani said that the move was decided in accordance with instructions from President Prabowo Subianto and Agriculture Minister and National Food Agency (Bapanas) Head Andi Amran Sulaiman.
"The Bapanas Head instructed that rice stocks must be multiplied, in accordance with the President's instruction that people must not be left starving. Hence, we decided to supply more in the three disaster-affected provinces," Ramdhani stated, as confirmed here on Tuesday.
He confirmed that Bulog will triple its rice stocks in Aceh, which currently stand at 80,000 tons, to meet the region’s needs. Similar measures will also be implemented in North Sumatra and West Sumatra to improve rice distribution following the disaster.
By increasing stocks in the three regions, Ramdhani expected that his agency would no longer need to send rice supplies from Jakarta or Surabaya.
The agency head is also optimistic that tripling rice stocks will help protect the region's food availability, maintain the people's confidence in existing stocks, and boost disaster response operations.
On Monday (December 8), Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan said he instructed rice stocks to be doubled for the three provinces affected by floods and landslides in Sumatra.
"If the normal shipping is 1,000 tons, we will send 2,000 tons now," he stated, affirming the move to ensure rice stocks availability after the disaster.
Agriculture Minister Sulaiman confirmed the plan to increase rice stocks for Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra on Wednesday (December 3), stating that the government “will not let the people go without rice while national rice stocks are at their highest level ever.”
According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), as of December 9, the disasters killed 961 people, left 287 missing, and affected millions across 52 districts and cities in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.
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Translator: M Harianto, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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