Government earmarks 46,000 tons of rice for NTT residents
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.