Government earmarks 46,000 tons of rice for NTT residents

Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang

The State Logistics Agency (Bulog) has earmarked 46,000 tons of rice for residents in 10 regencies in the drought-affected area of East Nusa Tenggara province. Out of the total 46,000 tons of rice, 36,000 tons were taken from Bulog's depot in East Nusa Tenggara while the remaining 10,000 tons were on the way on Wednesday from East Java province.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Agriculture is trying to secure the provision of 1,000 tons more rice from the World Food Program (WFP).

According to Bulog head Widjanarko Puspoyo, the Ministry of Social Affairs has begun to distribute 100 tons of free rice among residents in various regencies in the province.

Widjanarko said that overall, the government had earmarked 145,000 tons of rice to tackle the food crisis across the archipelago.

"Of the 145,000 tons, we earmark 46,000 tons for East Nusa Tenggara residents," said Widjanarko, who visited East Nusa Tenggara province on Wednesday.

He said that currently, Bulog officials are visiting areas affected by the drought to determine for themselves its scale and the number of people without an adequate food supply.

"I am visiting the province in order to see whether there is really drought as has been described by the media," said Widjanarko.

A senior official of the Ministry of Agriculture, Sobar Wiganda, said that his ministry is currently trying to provide work for residents affected by the drought.

The work offered includes the repair of irrigation systems and other agricultural projects, said Sobar.

Many farmers are unable to support their families due to harvest failure.

A drought in southern and eastern parts of the archipelago has reportedly put the people of 12 regencies at risk of water and food shortages. The regencies affected are Rote Ndao on Rote Island, North Central Timor, South Central Timor, Lembata, Belu, Kupang on Timor Island, Sikka, Ngada and East Flores on Flores Island, East Sumba and West Sumba on Sumba Island and Alor Island.

Observation of East Kupang district, Kupang regency -- some 45 kilometers east of Kupang municipality -- has shown that some 200 hectares of paddy fields in the area have dried up.