TNI Assist, Monitor Fertilizer Distribution
12 February 2015 13:06 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Subang - Members of the Indonesian National Military (TNI) have started to monitor the distribution of subsidized fertilizers in Subang, West Java. On Wednesday, hundreds of military officers from District Military Command (Kodim) 0506 began their new task of overseeing the distribution process, ready to crack down distributors and shop owners that violate the rules in selling subsidized fertilizer.
Kodim 0605 commander, Lt. Col. (Artillery) Yani Ari Saso, yesterday said the TNI had received many reports from farmers of the scarcity and unreasonably high prices of subsidized fertilizer.
As it turns out, many distributors and shop owners often sell subsidized fertilizers to third parties or unauthorized retailers. As a result, farmers had to buy the fertilizers from registered shops at a high price of around Rp200,000 to Rp250,000 per quintal, when in fact the highest official retail price set by the government is only Rp180,000 per quintal.
In January, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the TNI Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo. The MoU state that the Army will deploy 50,000 officers to help facilitate and mentor farmers in Subang, working with some 20,000 instructors provided by the Ministry.
For the program, the Agriculture Ministry has allocated a budget of Rp16.9 trillion. "Our target is to become self-sufficient in fertilizer in the next three years," said Amran.
NANANG SUTISNA | CANDRA NUGRAHA | URSULA FLORENE SONIA