Regencies face food shortage in West Java

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon, West Java

The prolonged drought plaguing many parts of the country could cause food shortages in at least eight regencies in West Java, where about 210,000 hectares of paddy fields have been affected, the provincial government warned.

The eight regencies are Bandung, Subang, Indramayu, Cirebon, Majalengka, Cianjur, Ciamis and Sukabumi, West Java Governor Danny Setiawan said on Thursday.

Cianjur is one of the largest rice producers for West Java and Jakarta.

"The eight regencies can be categorized as in danger of food shortages due to the acute drought which has caused crop failures," he said in Cirebon, West Java.

To address the problem, he said his administration would distribute 100 tons of rice to poor people in the regencies.

The governor said if more aid was necessary, he would ask West Java state food distributor Dolog to provide inexpensive rice.

"We will take all necessary measures to overcome any food shortages," Danny said.

He said officials had been deployed to gather data on the number of people in the eight regencies affected by the drought.

The governor said the drought also was causing shortages of clean water in most areas of the province. "We have discussed the issue with the provincial legislative council and agreed to provide more trucks to supply water in 24 regencies throughout West Java."

He said about 210,000 hectares of farmland in the eight regencies had been affected by the drought, with more than 40,000 hectares certain to suffer crop failures.

"However, Dolog's warehouses have a 16-month supply of rice," he added.

The governor said this year's crop failures would be worse than in 2002, when 8,000 hectares of paddy was lost.

Villagers in Cirebon and other parts of West Java have begun to eat aking (scrapings of rice on the cooking pot) because of food shortages.

This is also the case in the hamlet of Blok Dedali in Kapetakan village, Cirebon, were at least 75 residents have been eating aking.

"They have to eat aking because they cannot afford to buy other foodstuffs. They buy it in a traditional market for Rp 800 per kilogram," said Sair, 37, head of the Blok Dedali neighborhood unit.

The villagers are also facing water shortages, and are relying on a small pond for their water.

Cirebon Regent Sutisna confirmed food shortages in Kapetakan. "We will soon provide assistance to those affected residents."

He said the local government planned to provide affordable rice in Kapetakan and other villages vulnerable to food shortages.

However, the plan was criticized by local councillors who said it would not address the problem adequately.

Mahmud Jawa, a critic from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), said what was needed was to increase the poor villagers' purchasing power.

"As a short-term program, the procurement of cheap rice is not proper. The villagers don't have money to buy the rice," he said.