Bulog CEO reports progress on food security reinforcement for NTT earthquake victims to DPR
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The President Director of Perum Bulog, Ahmad Rizal Ramlagni, has reported to Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) on the progress of providing and strengthening food supplies to assist earthquake victims in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).
Rizal stated that the reinforcement of food supplies for the earthquake-affected communities in NTT is being continuously carried out through stock increases and accelerated distribution.
“We report that the total rice stock in NTT currently stands at 22,051 tonnes. Over 21,000 tonnes are held in warehouses, while 802 tonnes are in local and regional processing,” said Rizal while receiving a visit from the Chairperson of Commission VI of the DPR RI, Anggia Erma Rini, and her delegation at the Bulog Command and Control Centre in Jakarta on Monday.
He mentioned that to strengthen food supply resilience in East Nusa Tenggara, Bulog is preparing an additional shipment of approximately 75,000 tonnes of rice from several regions with adequate stock availability.
This additional supply includes 3,000 tonnes from Bulog warehouses in Banten and approximately 23,000 tonnes from East Java, among other regions, to meet the needs of the affected areas.
According to Rizal, shipments from other regions are being conducted because the stocks in the originating warehouses remain sufficient, allowing distribution to be directed to the areas in need.
Bulog estimates that the rice requirement for East Nusa Tenggara could increase to over 50,000 tonnes if the disaster emergency response period is extended due to field conditions.
In handling the East Nusa Tenggara earthquake disaster, Bulog has realised the distribution of approximately 2,679 tonnes of rice for various needs of the affected population.
The breakdown of this distribution includes approximately 1,700 tonnes for natural disaster management, 104 tonnes for regional government food reserves, and 839 tonnes of food assistance.
He explained that the distribution of aid has reached various regions, from West Manggarai to Ende, in accordance with the needs and requests of the respective regencies and cities.
To accelerate disaster response, Bulog has implemented an accelerated distribution pattern, prioritising food shipments without waiting for all administrative processes to be completed.
This pattern is based on experience from previous disaster management, such as the floods in Sumatra, ensuring that affected communities can immediately receive rice and cooking oil assistance to maintain stability.
Rizal added that Bulog’s national rice stock currently reaches 4.722 million tonnes after experiencing a decrease due to high distribution volumes for various government food programmes.
The decrease in stock occurred because Bulog has distributed food assistance to 33.2 million beneficiaries for the February and March 2026 period with a volume of approximately 600,000 tonnes.
Additionally, Bulog has distributed food assistance for the July, August, and September 2026 period, reaching nearly 1 million tonnes to meet public needs.
Bulog also noted that the distribution of rice under the Food Supply and Price Stabilisation (SPHP) programme from the beginning of the year to date has reached approximately 800,000 tonnes.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of Commission VI of the DPR RI, Anggia Erma Rini, assessed that Bulog’s steps in addressing the food needs of disaster victims have been appropriate.
Anggia expressed confidence in the Bulog CEO’s ability to anticipate and handle disaster emergencies, ensuring the needs of the affected communities are well met.
“Regarding this, I have great confidence because Mr Rizal has the experience to anticipate and handle such disasters,” Anggia responded to the Bulog CEO’s presentation.
Following the presentation regarding food security stocks for the NTT earthquake victims, the Bulog CEO and Commission VI of the DPR RI held a limited Focus Group Discussion (FGD) to discuss national rice issues.