VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Agriculture Ministry has said that it will supply one thousand tons of corn feed to layer poultry farmers in Blitar city of East Java, Kendal district of Central Java, and Lampung province.

The step was taken as part of efforts to provide cheap feed to poultry farmers, the ministry's Secretary General, Kasdi Subagyono, told Commission IV of the House of Representatives during a meeting here on Monday.

"The minister has created three scenarios which are short-term, medium-term, and long-term," he said.

Under the short-term scenario, the Directorate General of Food Crops  will  supply one thousand tons of special corn feed to Blitar, Kendal, and Lampung, he informed.

The ministry will collect eggs from farmers through state-owned integrator companies to tackle the falling prices of eggs in the market, he added.

The purchase of eggs from the farmers will be sustainable because the eggs will be processed into flour, he added.

"It takes time to design and build an integrator factory, so eggs are not oversupplied, (which later) cause its prices to decline," Subagyono said.

He considered the long-term scenario as more permanent. A buffer stock or food and feed reserves will be created for corn commodities so that the government can regulate their price in the market, similar to rice price regulation, he said.

Meanwhile, the director general of food crops, Suwandi, said another solution for managing corn prices can be to improve distribution between the corn center area and farmers.

The Agriculture Ministry is encouraging corn farmers mentored by the ministry to cooperate with farmers, he disclosed.

"(We suggest) The mentored corn farmers partner with small farmers. (With that) there will be a supply guarantee, and prices would be mutually agreed upon. It will be a beneficial relationship between corn farmers and egg farmers," Suwandi said.

Earlier, President Joko Widodo had ordered the Agriculture Ministry and the Trade Ministry to provide 30 thousand tons of corn for animal feed at a price of Rp4,500 per kg.

The policy aims to ease the burden on people's farmers, help them optimize production, and sell eggs or broiler chickens above the cost of goods sold (COGS), Suwandi said. (Antaranews)