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March 17, 2025 | 05:07 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), Arief Prasetyo Adi, stated that rice stored in Perum Bulog warehouses should be free of weevils. His remark came in response to the discovery of weevil-infested rice at a Bulog warehouse in Yogyakarta.
"That shouldn't have happened. We should have been preventive. But we need to follow up on this," said Arief in an official statement on Monday, March 17, 2025. According to Arief, the government has now followed up on the discovery by fumigating or controlling the pests.
Through this incident, Arief sees it as a correction due to the lack of intensity in checking the rice stock in the Bulog warehouse. However, with or without weevil-infested rice, Arief said that the management of Perum Bulog needs to continue monitoring the condition of the rice reserves.
"The Warehouse Manager, Branch Leader, and Regional Leader must ensure the rice's quality," he said, outlining those responsible for addressing the weevil-infested rice issue.
He also stressed the importance of regularly inspecting the 1.9 million tons of rice stored in Bulog’s warehouse.
When he was the Head of the Bulog Supervisory Board, Arief said he regularly visited the warehouses periodically. If there was unsuitable rice found, he would take immediate action. "It's really simple. Just fumigate it, done," said Arief to Tempo, Thursday, March 13, 2025.
The discovery of weevil-infested rice was revealed by the Chair of the House of Representatives Commission IV, Siti Hediati Hariyadi or Titiek Soeharto.
She found remaining imported rice from last year stored in the Perum Bulog warehouse in Yogyakarta was no longer fit for consumption. During her visit to Yogyakarta, she and her team inspected the Bulog warehouse.
"There, we found a lot of remaining imported rice in the Bulog warehouse that was infested with weevils," said Titiek.
She asked the ministry to manage the rice that was no longer fit for sale.
According to the Minister of Agriculture, Amran Sulaiman, the discovery of rice unfit for consumption not only occurred in Yogyakarta.
He admitted to receiving a report from Bulog revealing that there were 100,000 to 300,000 tons out of the total 1.9 million tons of imported rice stock in Indonesia that was unfit for consumption. Meanwhile, in Yogyakarta, he said there were 10 tons of unfit rice.
"This is already on the list, including in Yogyakarta, but we asked if it could be expedited in Yogyakarta, Ma'am. I apologize, Ma'am," said Amran.
Han Revanda contributed to the writing of this article.
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