Jakarta – The Minister of Home Affairs, M. Tito Karnavian, reminded local governments to be aware of the El Nino phenomenon to ensure inflation control is not disrupted.
El Nino is a weather phenomenon that can affect rainfall in an area.
According to Tito, local governments need to be aware of the El Nino phenomenon because a number of institutions predict that Indonesia will experience a phenomenon that can lead to drought, and the reduction of clean water sources in some areas.
This was conveyed by Tito, through his written statement, Monday (5/22/2023).
Tito said, due to the El Nino phenomenon in Malaysia, people in the neighboring country are currently being hit by panic buying or excessive purchases because they are afraid that mineral water products will sell out.
“If mineral water is one of the basic needs (experiencing scarcity), there will be panic buying. Automatically, the law of market demand applies, prices will rise,” said Tito.
Furthermore, Tito said that the price increase would indirectly trigger an increase in the inflation rate.
Therefore, he said, regional governments need to be aware of the El Nino phenomenon, especially in eastern Sumatra, such as Riau, Jambi, and surrounding areas that are prone to land and forest fires.
“That’s what we need to take care of, be careful. Everyone already knows, the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), TNI / Polri and local governments I think have prepared and are already working. This is what we need to be aware of,” said Tito.
In addition, he also said that another impact of El Nino is harvest problems because the drought caused by the phenomenon can hamper the harvest.
For this reason, Tito also encouraged each local government to start identifying the potential impacts of El Nino.
If a number of problems are found in the identification, the local government is expected to take intervention steps involving the agriculture and trade offices.
In addition, Tito also asked local governments to be alert in preparing a number of strategies to meet food needs in their respective regions. (InfoPublik/Photo: kemendagri.go.id)
