goodmorningpapua.com – Perum Bulog reports that the realization of rice absorption in the Papua and West Papua regions is still very low. That’s due to crop failure in Merauke Regency.
A Bulog President Director Budi Waseso confirmed this. “Merauke has failed to harvest because of low production quality. The government or Bulog needs to help,” he said at MRMP Kendal, Central Java, Thursday (21/7/2022).
The man who is familiarly called Buwas stated that his party intends to build a smaller-scale Modern Rice Milling Plant in Merauke.
“So later we will produce rice in Merauke for the benefit of Papua. Because now there is a sea toll road, which can distribute Merauke’s production for the benefit of Papua,” he said.
“So Papua will no longer be supplied from Surabaya, NTB, Makassar, and others,” said Buwas.
Even so, he does not want to depend on the fate of the stomachs of Papuans on the amount of rice production. This is because the indigenous peoples of the easternmost island of Indonesia are also more familiar with commodities such as sago and tubers.
“So it’s wrong to look at food from only one side of rice. No way! The President said, we must promote local food production. Whether in Papua it is sago production, tips to strengthen sago food in Papua,” he said.
“For example, in Madura or Gorontalo, we have to produce corn there. So don’t get involved in planting rice. As a result, I think our food strength can be guaranteed. We don’t have to be afraid of food shortages,” concluded Buwas.