Tame inflation in Papua by building agricultural centers

The Papua Provincial Government together with the local Regional Inflation Control Team (TPID) are continuing to take steps to control inflation, so that the target by the end of this year is in the range of 5 percent.

Papua is now in sixth place and has the highest inflation in Indonesia with a rate of 7.27 percent. For this reason, TPID Papua, together with the government and related agencies, is building cooperation to increase the productivity of a number of agricultural commodities, one of which is by opening agricultural land in a number of areas in Cenderawasih Earth.

The 7.27 percent figure is based on data from early January to August 2022. This figure is classified as very high because national inflation for the same period was only 3.63 percent.

Therefore, the Provincial Government of Papua together with the regional governments are determined to tame inflation, so that the accumulation (January-December 2022) is still within the 5 percent range.

To reduce this number, there are four main steps that must be considered in controlling inflation, namely the availability of stock, controllable prices, guaranteed supply of needs, and establishing coordination between the province and local districts.

This is what the government must do so that Papua's inflation does not soar to 7.27 percent. By carrying out these four steps, the inflation accumulation target until the end of the year in the range of 5 percent can be achieved.

Papua has so far had to import food from outside the region so that when it arrives in this province the price of important commodities becomes more expensive because transportation costs are not cheap.

For this reason, the Provincial Government of Papua has identified potentials for increasing agricultural productivity, such as in Keerom Regency and Jayapura City.

In addition, one of them is expanding inter-regional cooperation so that a region can fulfill each other's basic needs so that they can reduce the inflation rate.

For this reason, the Papua Provincial Government has planted chilies on a 30-hectare land area in the Pir One area, Yanamaa Village, Keerom Regency, Papua.

In addition to chilies, in the future, rice, shallots, garlic and other commodities that are usually imported from outside the region will be planted. The Papua Provincial Government requires at least 200 hectares of land to realize the plan.

"For this reason, we, the Papua Provincial Government, are working with the Keerom Regency Government to provide 200 hectares of land. The land will be planted with agricultural commodities," said Regional Secretary of Papua Province Muhammad Ridwan Ruusukun.


Horticulture

Now the Papua Provincial Government through the local Agriculture and Food Service is preparing three horticultural areas, which besides being in Keerom Regency, it is also working with the City and Jayapura Regency so that Papua has centers of agricultural commodities.

The reason for the three areas to be looked at is because the land they own is still large and the market share is good, making it easier to monitor and distribute to the nine districts and three provinces in the New Autonomous Region (DOB). Thus Papua will become a buffer for these strategic commodities.

By turning these three urban regencies into horticultural areas, it is hoped that in the future the parent province will also have superior commodities, which were previously located in Merauke Regency, South Papua Province.

"The formation of the three new autonomous regions is a challenge for us, but it is also a potential for the nine regencies in the main province so that in the future they can become a buffer for the three provinces," said the Acting Task Officer of the Papua Provincial Agriculture Service, Salomon Telenggen.

These steps are also a follow-up to the meeting with the Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) related to controlling inflation nationally so that it can be controlled.

Meanwhile, in the process of planting commodities in Keerom Regency, the Papua Provincial Government involved two districts, namely Arso Kota and Skamto which were spread over four villages involving 36 farmer groups in the local district. That way in the future Papua will not experience a shortage of chilies, shallots and several other commodities.

This effort is one of the efforts made to control inflation, especially ahead of Christmas and the New Year 2023 which are expected to be accompanied by increased demand for these commodities.

For this reason, the government hopes that the public will shop according to their needs, especially ahead of Christmas and New Year 2023, so that prices do not spike and stocks remain stable at affordable prices.


fresh wind

The cooperation carried out with the Papua Provincial Government is a breath of fresh air for the farmers because these lands have added value for the family economy.

Moreover, nearly 80 percent of people's livelihoods depend on the agricultural sector. For this reason, in the future Keerom Regency can supply these commodities to the surrounding districts and the three new autonomous regions provinces, especially in the mountainous areas.

The Keerom Regency Government has mapped out which areas are central to chilies, shallots, garlic and several commodities.

This way, at harvest time it will be clear which areas will meet the needs of chilies, shallots and others.

"We support the Papua Provincial Government program because in this area there is still a lot of vacant land that farmers can use to increase their income," said Deputy Regent Keerom Wahfir Kosasih.

The ability to meet the demand for these commodities is believed to be able to control inflation as well as bring prosperity to Papuan farmers.

SOURCE : https://papua.antaranews.com/berita/695497/menjinakan-inflasi-papua-dengan-membuild-sentra-pertanian