Jokowi to Grant Incentives for Farmers, Fishers during Pandemic

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government has planned to give incentives for farmers and fishers in order to maintain the supply of basic commodities amid the Covid-19 pandemic. President Jokowi said four schemes have been prepared as support.

The first scheme is a social safety net. The President asked his staffers to ensure that 2.7 million poor farmers and 1 million fishers are registered in the program, such as Family Hope Program (PKH), cash aid, direct cash aid of village fund, food packages, and free and subsidized electricity.

“The program mainly aims at easing the consumption cost of underprivileged households, including poor farmers and fishers,” he said in a teleconference meeting from Merdeka Palace, Thursday, May 28.

The second scheme is the credit interest subsidy program, which has been ongoing. The government had allocated Rp34 trillion to relax the installment payment and provide interest subsidy through micro-credit program dubbed Kredit Usaha Rakyat (KUR), the Prosperous Family Economic Development (Mekaar) program, the ultra-micro financing (UMi) credit program, and state pawnshop Pegadaian.

A stimulus as capital for the agricultural sector and marine and fisheries sector will also be given as a third scheme. The disbursement would be via the KUR program or UMI, Mekaar, and others via ministries.

“I have ordered the procedures to be simplified, the access to be made easy so our farmers and fishers can obtain needed funds,” Jokowi remarked.

The last scheme is non-fiscal policy instruments. “Through a policy that eases the supply chain. We hope the agriculture and fisheries business will be improved with the availability of seeds, fertilizers, and other production tools,” he said.

DEWI NURITA