Rice and cooking oil assistance demonstrate government's presence: Bapanas

“This program is necessary so that all low-income communities, totaling 33.2 million (beneficiary families), can feel the government’s presence,” Astawa said here on Sunday.

The government has ensured that the implementation of the first-quarter 2026 economic stimulus program, namely rice and cooking oil assistance, will continue through April.

He expressed hope that the state logistics agency Bulog, which distributes the assistance, can continue to accelerate the distribution to beneficiaries across Indonesia.

The food aid distribution is part of the February-March 2026 allocation. Each month, beneficiaries receive 10 kilograms of rice and two liters of cooking oil.

Distribution will be maximized through April so that all beneficiaries can receive the government’s economic stimulus assistance.

Astawa noted that as of March 25, the realization of rice and cooking oil assistance distribution had reached 382,529 beneficiaries in 24 provinces.

Some 7.65 million kilograms of rice and 1.53 million liters of cooking oil have been distributed to the public.

The rice and cooking oil assistance program required a budget of Rp11.92 trillion or US$701.5 million, with the total number of beneficiaries significantly increased to 33.2 million across Indonesia. Previously, the total number of beneficiaries stood at 18,277,083.

The five provinces with the highest number of beneficiaries are West Java with 6,093,530 recipients, followed by East Java with 5,638,478 recipients, Central Java with 5,071,126 recipients, North Sumatra with 1,756,846 recipients, and Banten with 1,298,597 recipients.

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Translator: Harianto, Kenzu