JAKARTA – The Banyuwangi Regency inflation control program has again received appreciation from the Central Government.
Presented on Thursday (31/8) by Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to Regent Ipuk Fiestiandani at the State Palace, the award stated that Banyuwangi had succeeded in maintaining the title of Best Regional Inflation Control Team (TPID) 2022 in Java and Bali.
Thus, Banyuwangi has won the Best TPID four years in a row since 2019.
The award presentation forum was attended by all the ministers of the Indonesia Maju Cabinet and the Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Perry Warjiyo.
“Alhamdulillah, today at the State Palace we received an award handed over directly by President Joko Widodo,” Ipuk said.
“This certainly encourages all elements in Banyuwangi to continue to unite in controlling inflation better, so that people’s purchasing power will always be maintained,” she added.
With the support of many parties, she continued, inflation was well maintained.
“We also continue to coordinate with BI as the monetary authority which is closely related to inflation control,” Ipuk explained.
“BI has a strong and detailed concern for local governments to control inflation according to President Jokowi’s direction,” she added.
One of its programs is to ensure the availability of food through interventions for farmers to repair roads which are accessible to the distribution of agricultural products.
Various stimuli are also provided to farmers, such as seed assistance, organic fertilizer, and field assistance.
“So, in the upstream we reduce production costs. Farmers are still facilitated and, Insha Allah, get the best price. Then this will have an impact downstream, with prices at the consumer level under control,” she explained.
Banyuwangi also innovates to grow a new generation of agriculture through digitization.
This includes the “Jagoan Tani” program which trains thousands of young people to become strong young agricultural entrepreneurs.
“This is to support increasing farmer welfare, productivity to guarantee supply, and at the same time maintain price stability,” Ipuk explained.
“We are optimistic that, with digitalization driven by young people according to the president’s direction, our agricultural sector can be competitive,” she added.
Meanwhile, to ensure the smooth distribution of food products, Banyuwangi is continuously improving road infrastructure.
For this year alone, the Banyuwangi Regency Government has prepared to build and repair 222,139 km of roads and build 26 bridges in a number of areas.
“After the pandemic, we are again focusing on building main roads between sub-districts. Including paving on many village roads and even hamlets. It is hoped to facilitate food distribution channels,” Ipuk said.
Regarding President Jokowi’s speech about limited rice stocks, Ipuk expressed Banyuwangi’s readiness to be assigned as a national rice center, including the development of organic rice.   Â
Banyuwangi rice production continues to be in surplus, around 325,000 tons per year.
“Furthermore, Banyuwangi is ready if we are given the assignment, not only limited to chili centers, but also rice,” Ipuk said.
The inflation rate in Banyuwangi in July 2023 was recorded as the lowest in East Java at 0.04%, lower than the province (0.15%) and national (0.21%).
The figure continues to slope and becomes the lowest in Banyuwangi in the first 7 months of 2023.
Banyuwangi’s Year on Year (YoY) inflation of 3.32% is also lower than East Java (4.11%) and almost close to the national level of 3.08%.
