House Commission IV Urges Swift Distribution of Food Aid for February-March 2026
Deputy Chairman of Commission IV of the House of Representatives, Alex Indra Lukman, has requested that the National Food Agency (Bapanas) immediately distribute the rice and cooking oil food aid (Bapang) for the February and March 2026 period. He stated that this program is awaited by 33.2 million families in Indonesia.
“The stock of rice and cooking oil is sufficient, with no obstacles. The available quantity is more than adequate. We urge the government, in this case, the National Food Agency (Bapanas), to no longer delay the distribution of the Bapang for the February and March 2026 period,” said Deputy Chairman of Commission IV of the House of Representatives, Alex Indra Lukman, in a written statement on Thursday (February 26, 2026).
Alex mentioned that the rice and cooking oil food aid has not yet been distributed to the beneficiaries. However, he added that the decision to distribute it was agreed upon during the High Level Meeting of the Central Inflation Control Team (HLM TPIP) on January 29, 2026, in Jakarta.
In the meeting, which was chaired by the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, it was agreed that the distribution of rice and cooking oil food aid would be carried out in a single distribution for the allocation of two months, namely February and March 2026. The number of beneficiary families (KPM) has been increased to include people in the first to fourth deciles, similar to the recipients of the Temporary Social Welfare Cash Assistance (BLTS Kesra) program.
“The 10 kg of rice and 2 liters of cooking oil per month will certainly help to curb price fluctuations during Ramadan, especially as the Eid al-Fitr 1447 H/2026 M is approaching,” explained Alex, who is also the chairman of the PDI Perjuangan in West Sumatra.
“This food aid is eagerly awaited by prospective recipients. Let’s not make the beneficiaries wait for the government’s promise for too long,” added Alex.
It is known that the number of beneficiaries of the Bapang program in 2026 has been increased by 81.9 percent from the number of beneficiaries of the similar program in the previous year, which was 18.2 million beneficiaries per month. In terms of quantity, for the distribution of two months at once, Bulog, which is in charge of the distribution, will release 664,800 tons of rice and 132,900 kiloliters of cooking oil.
To support the implementation of this pro-people program, the government has allocated a budget of IDR 11.92 trillion. According to Alex, this Bapang will help maintain the stability of basic food prices (control inflation). It will also help meet the needs of beneficiaries during Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr, and maintain the purchasing power of the community as a whole.
For information, the Bapang program, which was implemented by Bapanas together with Bulog in 2025, was carried out in two stages. The first stage involved the allocation of June and July, with food aid of 10 kg of rice per month to 18.2 million beneficiaries. Subsequently, in the allocation for October and November, the government added a package of aid with 2 liters of cooking oil, with the same number of beneficiaries each month. The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) also reported the positive impact of the rice food aid program, which contributed to the reduction of the poverty rate in Indonesia. At that time, it was mentioned that the rice food aid program had an impact on the poverty rate, where the percentage of poor people in March 2024 was 9.03 percent, a decrease of 0.33 percent compared to March 2023, and a decrease of 0.54 percentage points compared to September 2022.
(dwr/gbr)