The forum was attended by all cabinet ministers and the Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI), Perry Warjiyo.

"Alhamdulillah [thank God], today at the State Palace, we received an award presented directly by President Joko Widodo. This certainly encourages everyone in Banyuwangi to continue to work together to improve inflation control so that the purchasing power of the community is always maintained," said Ipuk.

She said that inflation is maintained through the support of many parties. "We also continue to coordinate with Bank Indonesia as the monetary authority closely related to inflation control. Bank Indonesia has a strong and detailed concern for regional governments in controlling inflation in accordance with President Jokowi's guidance," explained Ipuk.

One program involved in inflation control ensures food availability through interventions to farmers and improvements to roads, which are crucial for the distribution of agricultural products. Stimulus is also given to farmers in the form of seed assistance, organic fertilizer and field assistance.

"So that we can reduce production costs upstream, we help the farmers and God willing, they get the best prices possible, which then have an impact downstream on consumer prices," the regent said.

Banyuwangi is innovative in cultivating new agricultural methods through digitization, such as through the "Jagoan Tani" program, which prepares thousands of young people to become resilient young entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector.

"This is to support the improvement of farmers' welfare and productivity to guarantee supply, and at the same time maintain price stability. We are optimistic that with the digitization driven by young people according to the President's instructions, our agricultural sector can be competitive," said Ipuk.

Meanwhile, to ensure the smooth distribution of food products, Banyuwangi continuously improves its road infrastructure. In 2023, Banyuwangi regency is constructing and improving roads covering 222.139 kilometers as well as building 26 new bridges.

"After the pandemic, we again focus on building main roads between districts. This includes many villages and even hamlets. The hope is also to improve the food distribution routes," said Ipuk.

Regarding President Jokowi's speech that mentioned the limited rice stock, Ipuk expressed Banyuwangi's readiness to be assigned as a national rice center, including the development of organic rice. Banyuwangi continues to produce a surplus of rice, around 325,000 tons per year.

"Furthermore, if given the assignment, Banyuwangi is ready to not only be a chili center, but also a center of rice," said Ipuk.

Banyuwangi’s inflation level in July 2023 was the lowest in East Java at 0.04 percent, below the province’s average of 0.15 percent and below the national average of 0.21 percent. This figure continues to decrease and is the lowest in Banyuwangi in the first 7 months of 2023. Meanwhile, year on year (YoY) inflation in Banyuwangi is 3.32 percent, lower than that of East Java (4.11 percent) and approaching the national rate of 3.08 percent. (*)

Popular

Power begins to return after outage in Indonesia's Bali island

'Devastated' Prince Harry says no UK return but seeks reconciliation

North Sumatra to investigate hot mudflow eruptions in Mandailing Natal