Government Extends Food Assistance Program to December

Jakarta – Indonesian government is continuing its food assistance program, providing rice, chicken, and eggs for the months of August, October, and December. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani will allocate IDR 11 trillion for this effort.

Arief Prasetyo Adi, Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), stated that this extension supports low-income households facing rising prices of staple foods.

“We understand that staple food prices are constantly increasing, especially with the impact of El Nino hitting Indonesia. With this situation, and with the approval of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), the government is extending the food assistance program this year,” Adi said in a statement on Wednesday (July 11).

Adi noted that Bulog will distribute rice assistance to 22 million families.

“This will continue in August, October, and December, adding to the periods of January-March and April-June,” Adi remarked.

He added, “Thus, the total allocation for rice food assistance in 2024 will cover 9 months. In 2023, the total allocation was 7 months. This is an increase for families in need of economic support,"

In a meeting with the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives, Minister Sri Mulyani stated that the allocation for rice, chicken, and egg assistance will be extended for 3 months, specifically in August, October, and December.

“For the payments, this will add IDR 11 trillion,” the minister said.

As of July 10, the realization of rice food assistance distribution has nearly reached 100 percent. For the January-March period, Bulog successfully distributed 657.7 thousand kilograms (kg) out of the 660 thousand kg target.

For the April-June period, rice distribution reached a total of 634.1 thousand kg out of the 660 thousand kg target.