Programs to aid farmers will continue

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.