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Goverment to distribute rice, sugar through cards
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inspects the quality of rice at a State Logistics Agency (Bulog) warehouse in Jakarta on Tuesday. (Antara/Rosa Panggabean)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said the government planned to kick off a cashless assistance program to provide rice and sugar to low-income households starting Feb. 23.
The low-income families will receive the assistance in the form of cards, which could be used at an e-warung (electronic store) to acquire the commodities.
“We will distribute the rice and sugar through cards,” he said during a visit to the Jakarta branch of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) on Tuesday.
(Read also: High noon for Jokowi's social welfare ambitions)
"For example, we will distribute pre-packed rice for Rp 8,500 (64 US cents) per kilogram. We already have a brand for the rice," he said, adding that the sugar would be distributed in a similar way.
Jokowi added that if the distribution in the 44 cities went smoothly, the government would also consider distributing the goods in other cities.
The government has made many efforts to cut down on food stock prices, including by cutting down the lengthy distribution chain and adding another 1,000 Indonesian Farmers Shops (TTI) in March to the existing 1,316 shops in the country. (bbn)
