Programs to aid farmers will continue

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government claimed on Wednesday that it had distributed 15,960 tons of free rice to about 250,000 families of farmers whose crops had failed due to drought.

It had also distributed water from at least 140 water trucks and another 30 tanks were to be distributed later this month.

Although the rain has started falling in several locations and floods have hit several areas, the government had not yet considered the signs as the beginning of a rainy season.

"The rain has not yet fallen sufficiently across the country. There are still many areas which still suffer from a prolonged dry season," said Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare Jusuf Kalla on Wednesday.

He said labor-intensive programs for people affected by the drought would continue as planned.

"We have spent about Rp 160 billion on the programs so far," the minister said.

The government also introduced labor intensive programs for farmers who experienced crop failure. The farmers were offered to do public work, such as irrigation repairs, during the drought and for that they got paid Rp 15,000 per day.

However, Jusuf mentioned in several locations that the funds for labor intensive programs had not yet been distributed due to administrative reasons.

"We already distributed the funds to all districts that had labor-intensive programs, but some local officials were still waiting for an official letter from the Ministry of Finance for the distribution, which is actually not necessary," said the minister.

He said he had instructed local officials to distribute the funds by Thursday.

Commenting on the plan for cloud seeding, Jusuf said it would start on Oct. 1 for West Java and Central Java, in coordination with the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT).

In West Java, it will be concentrated in Citarum area, while in Central Java around Bengawan Solo area.