Finance Ministry, Food Agency to Launch Emergency Response Fund Program

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Director General of Budget at the Finance Ministry, Isa Rachmatarwata, stated that the ministry and the National Food Agency (Bapanas) were mulling plans to establish an emergency response fund program as a payment method for the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) and state-owned food holding firm ID Food to meet food reserve supplies.

“So that Bapanas has a budget to intervene in both the availability of food supplies and prices,” Isa said at the meeting for securing food supply and prices ahead of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr at the Kempinski Grand Ballroom in Central Jakarta on Monday, March 4.

Isa stated that the fund would be established to ensure that food prices remained stable and controlled while curbing food price inflation in the archipelago.

“For the past two years, we have been trying to find ways to ensure that Bulog and ID Food always have the capacity to build stocks,” he said.

Despite the plan still being discussed, Isa revealed that the two state-owned companies are currently availing the services of the state-owned bank association or Himbara to provide financing. 

Isa ensured that Additionally, Isa claimed that the banks would continue to support Bulog and ID Food by providing interest subsidies as loans. “And also provide collateral if necessary to guarantee loans from these two firms,” he said.

NOVALI PANJI NUGROHO

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