VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo has prepared four special incentives for farmers and fishermen to maintain the availability of basic commodities amid the Covid-19 pandemic. President Joko Widodo, in a Limited Meeting on Incentives for Farmers and Fishermen from the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Thursday, May 28, said that his office saw several large program schemes that could be used to help farmers and fishermen during this pandemic. The meeting was held in the Context of Maintaining the Availability of Staples.  The first incentive was through a social safety net program for 2.7 million farmers and poor farm laborers and 1 million fishermen and fish farmers.

The social programs provided are in the form of the  family of hope program, cash social assistance, village direct cash assistance, a package of nine basic commodities, and a free electricity subsidy program. According to President Jokowi, the main objective of the program scheme is to ease the burden of household consumption costs from underprivileged families, including poor farmers and fishermen.

Other incentives are provided through credit interest subsidy programs which have also been decided and are already in operation. President Jokowi asserted, the Government has prepared a fund of 34 trillion rupiah to relax installment payments and provide credit interest subsidies, which are channeled through People's Business Credit,  Fostering Prosperous Family Economy, Ultra Micro Businesses, Pawn shops, and through other financing companies.

He added, on the other side there were delays in installments and subsidies to the beneficiaries of capital assistance carried out by several ministries.  Such as the Maritime and Fishery Business Capital Management Agency, Prospective Land Farmer Candidates, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Meanwhile, after the limited meeting with the President, Minister of Social Affairs, Juliari Batubara said that according to the President's direction, the social assistance programs for fishermen and farmers would be  in  cash. The Ministry of Social Affairs will also coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries regarding the social assistance programs.