VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Finance Ministry is planning to disburse Rp95 trillion in budget funds to support national food security in 2023.



"In the field of food security, we will set aside Rp95 trillion to encourage food access and quality," director general of budget at the Finance Ministry, Isa Rachmatawarta, informed at a working meeting with the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives (DPR) here on Tuesday.



The budget allocation for food security in 2023 will be 0.9 percent higher compared to this year's allocation of Rp94.1 trillion. In 2020, the food security fund fell to Rp73.6 trillion from Rp100.2 trillion a year earlier.




The 2023 food security fund amounting to Rp95 trillion will comprise Rp72.9 trillion for the central government's spending on the food security budget and Rp22.1 trillion for fund transfers to regions (TKD).



According to Rachmatawarta, the 2023 food security budget will mainly be used to increase the productivity of strategic food commodities and encourage the creation of competitive human resources in the agricultural and fisheries sectors.



In addition, it will be used to promote the utilization of technology and data, the development of an innovation climate, the improvement of the national logistics system, and the transformation of the sustainable food system.



The budget fund will also be used to accelerate the construction of irrigation systems and dams.



He said the food security fund will be allocated to several ministries, including the Agriculture Ministry, the Maritime and Fisheries Ministry, the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, and the National Development Planning Ministry/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).



The projects that will receive the food security fund include rice farming on 279.56 thousand hectares of land, corn farming on 40 thousand hectares of land, and soybean farming on 350 thousand hectares of land.



The fund will also be used for the procurement of 9,275 units of environmentally friendly fishing equipment and 300 units of chest freezers, the completion of 23 dams, the construction of 7 new dams, the construction of irrigation networks for 6,900 hectares of rice fields, and the rehabilitation of irrigation networks for 96,700 hectares of rice fields. (antaranews)