Minister Mandates Egg Purchases from Farmers at Reference Price of Rp26,500/kg

The government will not allow smallholder farmers to suffer losses due to price pressures, the Agriculture Minister has stated. Minister of Agriculture and Head of the National Food Agency Andi Amran Sulaiman emphasised that the purchase of purebred chicken eggs at the farm level must comply with the reference purchase price (HAP) of Rp26,500 per kilogram. “Responding to the aspirations of farmers, the reference purchase price or HAP at the farm level of Rp26,500 per kilogram must be adhered to and will be overseen by the Police Food Task Force,” the Minister said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday. He stated that the HAP of Rp26,500 per kg was agreed upon in a dialogue between the government and smallholder layer farmers from various regions across Indonesia. To ensure effective implementation, the Ministry of Agriculture will send a circular letter with a copy to the Police Food Task Force to oversee the enforcement of the HAP and protect farmers from losses. In addition to the policy mandating the HAP for eggs at the farm level at Rp26,500 per kilogram, which must be obeyed by all collectors and egg buyers, the government is also distributing maize through the Supply and Price Stabilisation Programme (SPHP) mechanism to reduce feed costs for farmers. Minister Amran also encouraged an increase in the frequency of egg procurement by the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) through the free nutritious meal programme (MBG) from once to three times a week. Regarding this, Amran said he has communicated directly with the Head of BGN, Nanik S. Deyang. Furthermore, the Ministry of Agriculture has sent a recommendation letter to the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) to include the layer chicken farming sector in the negative investment list to protect smallholder businesses from pressure by large investors. Amran described these steps as a commitment to strengthening the national poultry sector from upstream to downstream. “The government will not allow smallholder farmers to suffer losses due to price pressures,” he asserted. He added that the struggle of Indonesian layer farmers must be appreciated because they have succeeded in meeting the protein needs of the community and are even able to export to other countries. “We appreciate and are proud of layer farmers throughout Indonesia who are able to meet the needs of the nation’s children and even export to other countries. On the other hand, we have taken several policies and steps so that we can protect them from suffering losses,” Amran said. The Ministry of Agriculture, through the Directorate General of Livestock and Animal Health, affirmed its commitment to continue protecting smallholder farmers through pro-farmer policies, strict supervision, and solid cross-agency coordination. All parties, from traders to collectors, are required to comply with the HAP of Rp26,500 per kilogram that has been set. Violations of this provision will be followed up according to the mechanisms enforced by the Food Task Force. The Chairman of the Presidium of the National Layer Farmers Association (Pinsar Petelur Nasional), Yudianto Yosgiarso, representing all associations and cooperatives of national layer farmers, welcomed the decision taken by Minister Amran. He also stressed that there will be no more tolerance for egg purchases below the HAP of Rp26,500 per kilogram. “There must be no more purchases of eggs below the HAP price of Rp26,500. We inform all farmers throughout Indonesia, if there is still pressure or purchases of eggs below the price of Rp26,500, immediately report it to the National Food Agency,” Yudianto stressed.