The government continues to move quickly to maintain rice price stability in Indonesia, which is currently undergoing adjustments due to the impact of the long drought. One of these efforts is to intensify the Cheap Market Movement (GPM).
The massive Cheap Market Movement (GPM) throughout Indonesia is a form of the Government’s real commitment to realizing rice price stability. The government guarantees that the price of rice is affordable for the public and that stock is always available on the market. Even though domestic rice production is decreasing due to the El Niño climate phenomenon, the Government has taken various concrete steps to ensure that Government Rice Reserves (CBP) are available for the next few months.
People don’t need to worry about responding to rice price fluctuations that occur. This is a normal thing in economic mechanisms. Considering rice as a basic commodity, the Government has intervened in the market through the Cheap Market Movement (GPM) program to achieve stability in the price of rice on the market. Apart from that, the Government is also accelerating the Stabilization of Food Supply and Prices (SPHP) by distributing rice social assistance to people in need.
The government, through the Minister of Trade, Zulkifli Hasan, has made various efforts to stabilize rice prices. The Ministry of Trade, the National Food Agency (Bapanas), and Bulog are strengthening the Cheap Food Movement (GPM) throughout Indonesia. This is to ensure guaranteed availability of rice at affordable prices.
Head of the Mataram City Food Security Service, West Nusa Tenggara Province,jauhari, stated that the Cheap Food Movement (GPM) was implemented in Mataram City on President Joko Widodo’s instructions to the relevant Ministries/Institutions and the Regional Government (Pemda). This program has very positive implications for stabilizing rice prices and controlling inflation. The success of this program in Mataram City will bring positive benefits to other NTB regions because Mataram is a barometer of the region’s economy.
President Joko Widodo previously also instructed relevant Ministries/Institutions together with Regional Governments to speed up rice assistance to Beneficiary Families. Rice assistance can help relieve pressure on rice prices which have an impact on the consumer price index, increase food reserves to maintain stock stability, reduce rice prices in the market and help control inflation in the regions until it declines gradually. In the rice aid program, the government distributes around 210 thousand tons of rice aid every month with a quarterly stock allocation of 640 tons of rice from the Bulog warehouse. Currently, SPHP rice from Bulog has begun to be distributed to markets in each region.
Meanwhile, the Banyuwangi Regency Government, East Java distributed rice social assistance to 122,047 families registered as Beneficiary Families (Bansos) from the Central Government in an effort to reduce the increase in rice prices.
The Regent of Banyuwangi, Ipuk Fiestiandani stated that Social Assistance in the form of rice is a Central Government program in an effort to deal with fluctuations in rice prices due to the El Niño climate phenomenon. This assistance will be provided for the next 3 months until November 2023. In this case, the Banyuwangi Regency Government is collaborating with Perum Bulog and PT. Pos Indonesia (Persero) and distributes it to communities recorded in the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) of the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemensos RI).
Distribution of rice aid must be distributed on target where the recipients of the aid are beneficiary families (KPM), the distribution process needs to be appropriate and minimize errors in the field.
There is potential for a rice shortage to occur because major global rice producers such as India banned rice export activities last July in order to meet their own domestic needs. Meanwhile, several other countries have also given signals that they will take similar steps. This has had a negative impact on the disruption of the global rice supply chain which has also been felt by Indonesia.
Meanwhile, within the country itself, the price of rice has started to rise since July 2022, due to a drop in national production in the midst of a long dry season with the El Nino phenomenon at that time, which is expected to continue until early 2024 and there will also be the phenomenon of increasing fertilizer prices due to the Russian and Ukrainian War.
Deputy for Consumption Diversity and Food Safety at the National Food Agency (Bapanas), Andriko Noto Susanto, stated that the commitment to stabilize rice is not only carried out now, but is a series of long-term activities to achieve food security. This is one of the provisions for creating a superior generation and achieving the vision of a golden Indonesia 2045. Bapanas is following up on President Joko Widodo’s order that national food management be carried out comprehensively and simultaneously. So it is not vulnerable in facing dynamic global situations.
The series of programs carried out by the Government to stabilize rice prices are worthy of appreciation because they have been proven to reduce fluctuations in rice prices on the market. Apart from that, the Government has also launched various superior programs to achieve long-term national food security. This is clear evidence of the strong commitment of President Joko Widodo’s government in creating a superior and highly competitive generation of Indonesians.
