Corn Distribution to Farmers Through SPHP Programme Reaches 127 Thousand Tonnes
The directive from Agriculture Minister and Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas) Andi Amran Sulaiman to maintain corn availability for livestock farmers continues to be followed up intensively. As of Sunday (23/8), the realisation of corn distribution through the Food Supply and Price Stabilisation Programme (SPHP) has reached 127,430 tonnes, distributed to farmers across various regions of Indonesia.
Based on the latest report from Perum Bulog as of Monday (24/8), the SPHP Corn programme has reached farmers in 28 provinces. The distribution involved 100 cooperatives and associations, and has been directly accessed by 5,543 farmers in need of affordable feed supplies.
This large-scale measure is a concrete follow-up after Minister Amran absorbed farmers’ aspirations during the Poultry Coordination Meeting at the Pusvetma Veterinary Farma Centre in Surabaya. In that forum, farmers complained about high production cost pressures due to difficulties in obtaining competitively priced feed raw materials.
“Expand and extend the SPHP. Bulog, that is my responsibility. Bulog, extend it as long as possible. As long as farmers need it, give it, full stop, make it easy, no pleasantries. We will continue Bulog’s SPHP until the end of the year,” Amran stressed in a press release received on Wednesday (26/8).
Amran emphasised the importance of the government maintaining balance in the food ecosystem, namely protecting farmers as producers while supporting livestock farmers as users of raw materials. This policy is implemented through two main strategies. Under this scheme, farmers receive certainty of harvest absorption at fair prices, while livestock farmers gain access to cheap feed to reduce their operational business costs.
The Ministry of Agriculture, through the Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health, has ensured it will continue to monitor recipient data and distribution conditions in the field. Director of Feed at the Ministry of Agriculture, Tri Melasari, stated that strict supervision is necessary so that government intervention remains measurable.
“What we safeguard is not only the availability of feed corn, but how supplies reach farmers in need at affordable prices, without neglecting price balance at the farmer level,” said Tri Melasari in Jakarta on Tuesday (25/8).
Bulog’s operational data shows the total SPHP Corn allocation reaches 213,200 tonnes. With the realisation of 127,430 tonnes, there remains an allocation of approximately 85,770 tonnes. To strengthen support, Bapanas has proposed an additional quota of 150,000 tonnes of SPHP Feed Corn to the Coordinating Ministry for Food Affairs for further discussion in a Limited Coordination Meeting.