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Govt prepares El Niño cash aid for poor families
Under the new direct cash assistance (BLT) scheme, each eligible family will receive Rp 200,000 (US$12.61) once a month in November and December to help them deal with the impacts of prolonged dry season.
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Low on water: Residents collect clean water provided by the local administration on Oct. 13, 2023, in the drought-hit village of Gunungguruh in Sukabumi regency, West Java. The prolonged dry season has dried up wells in the village. (Antara/Henry Purba)
T
he government will roll out a new cash aid program for underprivileged families to help them deal with the impacts of the El Niño weather phenomenon, which has caused prolonged dry spells and stoked concerns of food shortages in many areas throughout the country.
Under the new direct cash assistance (BLT) scheme, each eligible family will receive Rp 200,000 (US$12.61) once a month in November and December.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo announced the program during a visit to West Sumatra last week, during which he went to a State Logistics Agency (Bulog) warehouse in the province to check on rice reserves.
“We don’t want El Niño to reduce the people’s purchasing power. That’s why we are rolling out the El Niño BLT scheme,” Jokowi said.
In addition to the cash aid, the government plans to extend the free rice program for poor families until December. The government has distributed 10 kilograms of rice per month since September.
“To date, [some families] have received [the rice aid] once, while others have received it twice. I’d say by the end of November, each family will already have received [the package] three times,” Jokowi said. “And we will add another batch of rice packages in December.”
Read also: Drought-induced famine kills six in Central Papua
