Jakarta (ANTARA) – The government plans to begin distributing food aid for the fourth quarter of 2026 in October, Deputy Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said.
“I believe the limited meeting held the other day decided that we will soon roll out the food aid program,” he told reporters in Jakarta on Thursday.
He made the statement following the government’s announcement that it would distribute 10-kilogram food aid packages to a total of 33,244,408 beneficiary families nationwide through the end of the year.
Backed by a budget allocation of Rp17.5 trillion (more than US$970 million), the program is aimed at supporting households classified in the four lowest socioeconomic groups under the National Single Socioeconomic Data (DTSEN).
Nurofiq noted that the government would also continue implementing the Food Supply and Price Stabilization (SPHP) program to help keep food prices affordable.
Rice distributed under the program is sold at Rp12,500 (US$0.70) per kilogram, with an additional allocation of one million tons secured for the program through March 2027.
“We have also prepared additional supplies through March,” he said, assuring the public that the government had taken measures to maintain food accessibility and affordability.
Bulog, the state logistics agency responsible for managing the government’s rice reserves, has assured that Indonesia has sufficient stocks to support the fourth-quarter food aid program.
“We at Bulog still have 4.5 million tons of rice. Less than 1 million tons will be needed to reach the 33.2 million targeted beneficiaries over the final three months,” Bulog President Director Ahmad Rizaldi said.
He added that Bulog would still have more than three million tons of rice after the food aid distribution program was completed.
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Translator: A.N. Zhafira, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Primayanti
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