Jakarta, March 11 (Antara) - The government hopes that farmers will not
run short of subsidized fertilizers after it increases the role of
cooperatives in the supply of the commodity.
Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Anak Agung Gede
Ngurah Puspayoga said the role of cooperatives as the distributors of
agricultural commodity will be revived.
The minister noted that cooperatives as the pillar of the nation's
economy played the role of a distribution center that makes available
stocks such as fertilizers, seeds, and business capital.
"Admittedly,
there are many obstacles to restore their role, particularly of the
Village Cooperative Units (KUD). Not all of them can serve as
distributors. Therefore, we will reorganize and develop them in stages,"
the minister stated during his working visit to Malang, East Java, last
Saturday.
Minister Puspayoga added that cooperatives have been assigned to act as
the distributors and retailers of subsidized fertilizers.
On the occasion, the cooperatives minister was accompanied by Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel.
Minister Gobel remarked that the assignment of cooperatives as
fertilizer distributors is expected to guarantee and secure
distribution. Thus, subsidized fertilizers will reach their targets as
cooperatives have wide networks, he added.
"Cooperatives have been in existence for a long time and have wide
networks. I want to revive the role of cooperatives in the economic
development of the country. The security of the distribution of
subsidized fertilizers must be guaranteed," the minister said on
Saturday.
Minister Gobel attended a function that marked the appointment of
cooperatives as subsidized fertilizer distributors in Dampit, Malang
District, East Java.
In an effort to facilitate the program, the minister remarked his
office will encourage all the KUDs across the country to actively
participate in it.
Of course, the process has to begin in the regions where cooperatives are ready.
The minister observed that breakthroughs are needed to manage and
ensure fertilizer distribution on time to prevent any shortage in
fields.
"We need breakthroughs to prevent distribution delays and fertilizer
scarcity. After all, subsidized fertilizers fall under the government
supervision. We will cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture, the
Ministry of Finance and state-owned enterprises (BUMN) to improve the
distribution system," he added.
He also stated that subsidized fertilizers should be delivered to
beneficiary farmers so that they can actually meet their targets.
To become a fertilizer distributor and retailer, a cooperative has to pass an assessment.
State-owned fertilizer producer PT Pupuk Indonesia recently conducted
an assessment of cooperatives and found that 93 cooperatives could be
assigned as distributors in 21 provinces.
The results of the assessment were sent to the Deputy Minister for
Production Affairs of the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium
Enterprises.
"The results of the assessment by PT Pupuk Indonesia suggested that 93
cooperatives in 21 provinces qualified to be appointed as subsidized
fertilizer distributors," Deputy Minister for Production Affairs of the
Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises I Wayan
Dipta said recently.
The assessment also showed that 629 other cooperatives in 19 provinces
could be probable retailers of subsidized fertilizer.
Previously, some 2,335 village cooperatives had the authority to distribute subsidized fertilizers.
However, their number dropped to 274, or only about 11 percent of the
total number of regular distributors (other than cooperatives) that
reached 2,485.
The number of cooperatives serving as retailers stood at 1,475, or 3.3
percent of the total number of fertilizer retailers of 44,028.
In 2014, 9.55 million tons of subsidized fertilizers were distributed
to farmers and it is expected to remain unchanged in 2015.
According to Yusuf Wibisono, Public Relations Manager of state-owned
fertilizer producer PT Petrokimia Gresik (PT PKG), the total target
allocation of fertilizers nationally in 2015 is 9.55 million tons for
all types such as urea, Sp-36, ZA, NPK, and organic fertilizers.
PT PKG has assured that a sufficient amount of subsidized fertilizer will be distributed in 2015.
"PKG has an obligation to allocate 5.2 million tons of fertilizer. We
will continue to strive in order to ensure their timely and precise
distribution," Wibisono said last month.
"Of the total target allocation of 5.2 million tons of fertilizers, PKG
has already distributed 804,462 tons until mid-February 2015," he
added.
There
must be some congruence between the government and society in order to
meet the demand of subsidized fertilizers, Wibisono remarked.
The local governments are required to monitor farmers during the
planting season and optimize the role of field instructors in assisting
farmers, while communities are required to monitor the distribution of
subsidized fertilizers and report anything suspicious with regard to its
quality, sale, or distribution.
To prevent any misuse, the PKG has undertaken various efforts,
including the provision of a bag code to track the quality of products
and identify their origins.
In the meantime, PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja, another state-owned fertilizer
producer in Palembang, South Sumatra, said it has sold 55,667 tons of
non-subsidized fertilizers so far this year.
They had been sold to plantations and industrial consumers, company spokesman Sulfa Ganie said.
According to Sulfa, the company sold the fertilizers to plantations and
industries as they fulfilled their obligation to fully supply
subsidized fertilizers for farmers in South Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu,
Lampung, Bangka Belitung, Banten, Jakarta, Central Java, and Yogyakarta.
A
regulation requires state fertilizer companies to first meet the
fertilizer requirement of farmers before selling off excess in
production to commercial users.
The
company has four units of factories producing urea fertilizer
fulfilling the obligation to supply subsidized fertilizers to farmers.
"The
four factories have a production capacity of 2.262 million tons of urea
fertilizer per year. The capacity is more than enough to meet farmers'
requirement," Sulfa remarked.***3***
(T.A014/INE)
EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 11-03-2015 21:39: |
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