Food shortages loom in 3 areas

Food shortages loom in 3 areas

JAKARTA (JP): Food shortages are threatening thousands of
people in several subdistricts in Central Sulawesi, North Maluku
and East Kalimantan as the economic crisis continues to
deteriorate, media reports said yesterday.

In Banggai regency, Central Sulawesi, 526 families, or 2,735
people, are suffering shortages due to a lack of rain.

The head of the Banggai social affairs office, Nuhung Arsyad,
told Antara yesterday that the drought which had lasted for the
last five months has made it impossible for farmers to plant
crops.

In the worst affected villages of Malik and Bina Karya, people
are living on bamboo shoots, sago and gadung (a wild tuber which
is poisonous if not cooked properly), he said.

"I personally saw the villagers' hardship... their situation
is deplorable because they are eating less than they need," he
said recalling his recent visit to the isolated area.

Nuhung said he saw housewives in Siuna Bay soaking gadung for
at least two days to neutralize the toxin.

"We have lived on the tuber over the past two months," he
quoted a housewife as saying. "A cup of sweet tea in the morning
is a luxury at this time."

The Banggai administration plans to send five tons of rice to
the affected area, where 550 hectares of productive land is now a
wasteland.

Drought has also caused the harvest to fail in the northern
Maluku island of Ternate, where about 200 families, or 943
people, are affected, Antara reported.

Residents said that famine was looming large unless the
government sent relief aid in the near future.

Djabir Syahbuddin, the village chief of Tufure, said the
drought had dashed people's hopes for a plentiful harvest and
threatened their cattle.

He said that since January last year, rain had fallen only
once, adding that the regency government had sent in 2.6 tons of
rice.

In Riau, Indragiri Hulu regent Ruchiyat Saefudin reported
yesterday that supplies of basic commodities in his area were
running out.

The essential commodities include rice, sugar, cooking oil and
milk. He said only 50 tons of rice was left in the local
logistics agency's warehouse, which was enough for only several
weeks.

Except for sugar, prices of the basic commodities in the
regency remain high. The price of chicken has soared from Rp
6,400 to Rp 7,800 and high grade rice costs Rp 2,600 per
kilogram.

In East Kalimantan, the Kutai regency administration said it
planned to provide 80 tons of rice to the hinterland subdistrict
of Wahau where food shortages had occurred.

East Kalimantan deputy governor Suwarna Abdul Fatah said
Thursday that each affected family would be given five kilograms
of rice.

The local authorities also plan a labor-intensive job-creation
program for the affected area. (pan)