The government has realized rice imports to cope with the increasingly critical availability of rice nationwide toward year-end.

Interest rate subsidies to build government food reserves show the seriousness of the government in handling food with a new approach.

Indonesia still needs to work hard to cope with the increasing trend of food-commodity imports.

The President also instructed the Finance Ministry to ready the budget needed to absorb rice from farmers.

They request the government to review the 1-million-ton rice import plan because even before its realization, this plan has had a market psychological effect that lowers their unhusked rice prices.

The government has decided to import rice, sugar, salt, beef and even buffalo, although it has repeatedly said that it wants to achieve self-sufficiency.

The statistical data on COVID-19 victims around the globe shows that more men have died from the disease than women

The government must also be alert to the possibility of increases in rice prices.