Jakarta, Feb 29 (Antara) - Targeting production of some 76 million tons of unhusked rice this year, Indonesia is entering a rice harvest season which is expected to yield 14.52 million tons of hulled rice.
"The grand harvest season is forecast to take place in the March - April 2016 period," Andi Muhammad Syakir, the head of the research and development center of the Ministry of Agriculture, said in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Monday.
Syakir made the remarks when reading out a written statement of Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman on the occasion of a simultaneous rice grand harvest in seven provinces in Indonesia.
In South Sulawesi, the function was centered in Sappae Village, Wajo District. The seven province where the simultaneous grand harvests were conducted on Monday are Central Java, East Java, North Sumatra, and South Sumatra, in addition to South Kalimantan, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) and South Sulawesi.
Minister Amran Sulaiman attended the grand harvest in Cilacap District, Central Java, during the simultaneous harvest events.
Overall, the Ministry of Agriculture has set a production target for unhulled rice at 76.226 tons, Andi Muhammad Syakir said.
Last year, the government set a production target of 75 million tons of dry unhusked rice, or equal to 43.940 million tons of rice. However, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) later revised downward the rice production target to 74.99 million tons due to the El Nino-induced drought.
Despite being revised, data from the Ministry of Agriculture shows that Indonesia's rice consumption in 2015 reached 33.36 million tons.
"Rice production at the end of February this year is predicted at 5.0 million tons," Syakir said.
Regarding Monday's simultaneous rice grand harvests, Syakir said the events are expected to serve as a reminder to the people before Indonesia enters the grand harvest periods of March and April this year.
"These harvest events are themed with 'simultaneous harvest, stock adequate,'" he said.
On the occasion, South Sulawesi Deputy Governor Agus Arifin Numang said that South Sulawesi, which has been chosen as one of the grand harvest ceremonies, has since long been a rice production hub.
Although Indonesia is facing rice harvest seasons, the government has set a target to import rice this year to anticipate possible shortage of supplies. After all, rice is a main food commodity in the country which could cause poverty if the domestic need is not met.
Therefore, through the state-owned logistics board Bulog, the government will increase its rice procurement from farmers and import a certain volume of the commodity this year in an effort to control prices and prevent the rise of poverty rate.
"The rice price is a decisive factor that could create poverty. If it is not stable it will increase the number of poor people. Therefore, rice will be imported so that prices and poor people will not increase while domestic need is met," Vice President Jusuf Kalla said recently.
Besides importing rice, the government, through Bulog, will also increase its rice procurement this year from 2.7 million tons in 2015 to 3.9 million tons this year.
Therefore, Bulog has set a target to procure 3.9 million tons of rice in 2016, of which 3.2 million tons would be bought through the Public Service Obligation (PSO) scheme and 700 thousand tons others through commercial purchases.
In the meantime, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman launched a new rice product, labeled as Premium 7,500 Rice, on the occasion of the simultaneous rice harvest in Cilacap, Central Java, in an effort to reduce the number of players in distribution channel.
The minister launched the Premium 7,500 rice product after conducting a rice grand harvest, together with the Indonesian Army Chief Gen Mulyono, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, Cilacap District Head Tatto Wuarto Pamuji and a number of government officials in Mernek Village, Maos, Cilacap District, Central Java.
Minister Sulaiman said the Premium 7,500 rice was bought from farmers at a fair price and was sold to consumers at a lower price.
"This means that we are creating a new market by shortening the distribution channel for rice," noted the minister.
He said the rice was bought from farmers at a price of Rp4,000 per kilogram. The rice was bought in the unhusked form and was sold as hulled premium rice at Rp7,500 per kilogram.
However, the minister said he did not rule out the possibility of the premium rice price increasing slightly in the future. "It can be raised slightly as long as it stays below the Rp8,000 per kilogram level," he said.
On the distribution of Premium 7,500 rice, the minister explained that his ministry has prepared 1,000 farmer shops in provinces which are rice producing centers.
Premium 7,500 rice venture is part of the efforts to stabilize rice prices. "We can see now that the rice prices have returned to normal, ranging from Rp7,500 to Rp8,000 per kilogram. So, we will go ahead with the program."
At a separate occasion, Head of the Food Resilience Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Gardjita Budi said the rice from which Premium Rice 7,500 is produced was bought from farmers at a price more than what is sanctioned by the government (HPP), so the farmers get the benefit. The unhusked rice is processed and sold to the farmer shops.
"The point is that the shops should not cause difficulties to the people while selling rice," he said. The farmer shops can sell the premium rice at Rp7,500 per kilogram directly because there is a shorter distribution channel.
Budi said his side has set a target of opening 1,000 farmer shops in 2016. About 150 shops had been opened in 2015 but they were still on a trial basis.***3***
(A014/INE/H-YH)(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 29-02-2016 22:18:0 |
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