Indonesia extends nearly 1 million ton rice handout programme to December

JAKARTA — Indonesia will extend a rice handout programme for more than 33 million low-income households through to December, providing nearly one million metric tons of additional supplies in a bid by the government to mitigate El Nino-related food-supply risks.Here are more details:”The rice aid programme prepared for this year includes a 30-kilogram allocation ending in September, which will be continued in October, November and December,” Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto told reporters late on Monday.The programme covers 33.24 million recipients nationwide, implying a total allocation of about 997,200 tons of rice over the three-month extension period.Rice is the staple food for most of Indonesia’s population of about 290 million, and prices have steadily increased in the first half of the year as a result of higher production costs.State food procurement agency Bulog will distribute the aid. It currently holds 5.25 million tons of rice stocks.