VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Medan Mayor Muhammad Bobby Afif Nasution and the government's officials observe one of the heritage buildings in Kesawan neighborhood on March 17, 2021. ANTARA/HO

The Medan administration will launch the revitalization of Kesawan City Walk as the city’s iconic culinary and pedestrian hub on Sunday, as the government endeavors to revive Indonesia’s tourism sector battered by COVID-19 since 2020.

“We are launching the revitalization and refurbishment of the Kesawan City Walk on Sunday afternoon. It is part of the city government’s prioritized programs,” Medan Mayor Muhammad Bobby Afif Nasution remarked.

Revitalizing this city’s vital historical and cultural heritage site was part of the city government’s endeavors to transform Medan into the “Kitchen of Asia”, Nasution noted in a statement that ANTARA quoted here, Saturday.The city government’s efforts garnered support from the Regional Leadership Communication Forum (Forkopimda) members since the Kesawan City Walk’s culinary and pedestrian hub would later aid in driving the businesses of local small and medium enterprises, he explained.

The renovation of this iconic tourist site is also projected to contribute to the city government’s regional income revenue, he remarked.

The Kesawan neighborhood area is well-known as one of Medan’s vital historical and cultural heritage sites where domestic and foreign visitors CAN witness up-close ancient structures, including those from the Dutch colonial era.

The revitalization and refurbishment of this Kesawan City Walk is expected to enable Medan to have its culinary brand as the Kitchen of Asia, Nasution affirmed.“From now on, let us brand our culinary richness as the Kitchen of Asia,” President Joko Widodo’s son-in-law stated.

Meanwhile, Head of the Medan city government’s Housing and Spatial Planning Division Benny Iskandar remarked that following the revitalization of the Kesawan City Walk, its corridor of A. Yani Street would be brimming with an array of popular authentic food of the city.

The other corridors will be provided for street performances from various segments of communities in Medan, Iskandar noted.

Indonesia has been striving to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic since the government officially announced the country's first cases on March 2, 2020.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease has dragged Indonesia into serious public health and economic crises.Tourism has been among the economic sectors severely-affected by COVID-19 in the country//ANT

Indonesia records 4,461 fresh cases, 4,243 recoveries

Indonesia added 4,461 confirmed coronavirus infections, 4,243 recoveries, and 198 deaths over 24 hours ending Saturday, according to the Task Force for COVID-19 Handling.

With the additional cases, the cumulative confirmed cases in Indonesia reached 1,492,002, while the number of people completely recovering from the infection touched 1,327,121, and the death toll climbed to 40,364.

The government reported the country's first confirmed cases in March, 2020.

At least 54,980 suspected COVID-19 cases were detected on Saturday, while 67,548 specimens were tested in the country. Meanwhile, the number of active cases increased by 20, bringing the tally to 124,517 cases.Jakarta reported the highest number of fresh COVID-19 cases at 1,354, followed by West Java, which added 476 cases.

Meanwhile, the highest recovery rate was seen in West Java, where 1,182 people made a complete recovery from the infection, followed by Jakarta (651) and East Java (303).

Most of the deaths occurred in West Java, which recorded 102 fatalities, followed by Central Java (19) and Jakarta (18).

Meanwhile, the highest cumulative COVID-18 cases were reported in Jakarta (378,222), West Java (246,252) and Central Java (167,176).

Meanwhile,  Jakarta also recorded the highest number of people recovering from the infection at 364,175, followed by West Java (218,100), and East Java (126,575). Meanwhile, most of the deaths occurred in East Java, which recorded 9,810 fatalities, followed by Central Java (7,207) and Jakarta (6,278)//ANT

President Joko Widodo visiting the food estate location in Central Sumba District, Tuesday (23/2/2021). ANTARA/HO -Presidential Press Bureau/pri.

The Indonesian government last year started developing a food estate project in Pulang Pisau district, Central Kalimantan province to ensure national food security and resilience amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

While it is currently spread over 30 thousand hectares of land, the size of the food estate will be extended over the next two years.

Now, the food estate project has been expanded to several other regions such as North Sumatra, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), South Sumatra, Papua, and Riau.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on February 23, 2021 reviewed the implementation of a food estate project in Central Sumba district, NTT. Currently spread over five thousand hectares comprising three thousand hectares of rice and two thousand hectares of corn fields, the estate will be eventually expanded to 10 thousand hectares to comprise 5,600 hectares of rice and 4,400 hectares of corn fields.During his visit, Widodo said he is optimistic the food estate will encourage rice farmers in Central Sumba to harvest rice twice a year, and corn and soybean once a year.

"As per data I have received, 34 percent of the residents in Central Sumba live in poverty and farmers harvest rice only once a year. We want them to harvest rice twice a year and corn or soybean once a year," Widodo said.

To scale up the irrigation system for farming, the government has built a number of reservoirs and dams in NTT, an arid province that often bears the brunt of water shortages.Earlier, on February 11, 2021, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, visited a Herbal and Horticultural Science and Technology Park (TSTH2), which is currently being developed and will be part of a two thousand-ha food estate project in Pollung district, North Sumatra.

"Indonesia has 30 thousand herbal species, therefore the President is aiming for a world-class herbal research center (here), which we are currently developing together with the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) and five universities led by IT Del," the minister said.Supporting facilities for TSTH2 will also be built in the area and will include laboratories, collection gardens, hatcheries and research centers, silvopastures, natural tourism, artificial tourism, offices, and accommodation for researchers as well as guest houses.

"I hope we can plant good and superior seeds here, so that we can be proud to say these seeds are from Pollung. For this reason, it is hoped that the community and the government can cooperate with each other, and most importantly work with the heart," the minister remarked.

In Riau province, about 30 thousand hectares have been allocated for a food estate project for planting rice and corn, among other things."The Riau provincial government has filed an application with the Agriculture Minister and allotted 30 thousand hectares of land in the hope of being able to develop a new food estate," Riau Governor Syamsuar said on March 5, 2021.

The government came up with the idea of developing a three-year food estate project following a warning by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that the COVID-19 pandemic is posing a serious threat to food security and nutrition. It has also urged governments and other stakeholders to build more resilient food systems.

The President has asked three ministers — Defense Minister Prabowo Susanto, Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, and State Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir — to implement the program, with the support of other ministers."The ministry is implementing sustainable food estate development and management to increase food security while supporting national economic recovery by providing jobs for people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic," minister Hadimuljono said in a statement issued on February 28, 2021.

He cited a number of challenges to the development of food estates, including water management, community economy, the environment, institutions, and financing//ANT

Director General for the Handling of the Poor at the Social Affairs Ministry Asep Sasa Purnama monitored the distribution of cash social assistance in Cipondoh Subdistrict, Tangerang City, Banten Province, on January 10, 2021 ANTARA/HO-Kemensos RI

The Social Affairs Ministry has set a target to hand out social assistance to 17,496,185 beneficiary families (KPM) throughout Indonesia until the end of March 2021.

"In total, the number of beneficiary families will reach 17,496,185," Director General for the Handling of the Poor at the Social Affairs Ministry Asep Sasa Purnama noted in a press statement released on Saturday.

The number includes beneficiary families originally planned to receive the aid in April 2021, he remarked.

In March 2021 alone, the number of beneficiary families had reached 11,746,119 from 509 districts and cities nationwide, Purnama remarked.

"Hence, we are awaiting the updated data that will become available on Saturday night at 23:59 WIB at the latest," he noted.During the month of March 2021, the Social Affairs Ministry has handed out non-cash food assistance (BPNT) in stages to 10,496,451 beneficiary families comprising 4,502,451 on March 22 and 5,993,734 on March 25.

Social assistance for some four million beneficiary families will be distributed on March 29 and for some five million beneficiary families on March 30.

The social assistance to all beneficiary families was distributed earlier than projected owing to the assistance and support of the Home Affairs Ministry and provincial, district, and municipal governments, the acting chief of the Center for Social Welfare Data and Information at the Social Affairs Ministry stated.

Moreover, it is inseparable from the role of provincial, district, and municipal governments to update data of beneficiary families and match their population numbers//ANT