Jakarta (ANTARA) - Domestic food stocks are sufficient for meeting national needs as some regions in Indonesia are in the middle of the harvest season, and therefore, no imports are needed currently, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has said. "We are having the harvest season. Imports are only necessary when there is no supply nor harvesting activity,” he said during a working visit to Bandung District, West Java Province, on Monday.
It has been reported that a number of food production areas in Indonesia will have their harvest season from February until March 2023. On the occasion, President Jokowi also spoke with local farmers regarding the current price of unhusked rice as well as some agricultural needs. "I just chatted directly with the farmers on how much the price of wet unhusked rice, (as well as) how much the price of dried unhusked rice (is),” he said.
According to the farmers, the price of unhusked rice was around Rp6 thousand (US$0.39) per kilogram, Widodo stated adding that the price was quite good. "I asked (farmers) earlier whether the price of unhusked rice had declined (because) if the price of unhusked rice has fallen, it also means that the price of rice has declined," he explained.
Furthermore, President Jokowi said that the farmers also complained about the high price of fertilizers. Local farmers reported that currently, the stocks of fertilizers are abundant, however, the harvest season in the region has ended, he noted.
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In addition to holding a discussion with farmers, he also visited the Al Ittifaq Islamic Boarding School’s Cooperatives (Kopontren). He said that he was impressed with the management of the Islamic boarding school-based cooperative, which could encourage local farmers to meet market demand.
He observed that the Al Ittifaq Kopontren has good management planning. "The (management) planning carried out at the Al-Ittifaq Islamic Boarding School is very good and can be used as a role model -- it can become a business model (for other kopontren); we just need to replicate it (in other kopontren)," he added.
