Celebrating its 50th anniversary on May 10, the challenge of state-owned logistics agency Bulog is to find relevance to changes.
Since its inception, Bulog has been tasked with providing food and stabilizing prices. The food commodity handled by Bulog is mainly rice. In 2016, the President assigned Bulog to maintain the stability of prices and supplies of corn and soybeans.
At the beginning of its establishment, the role of Bulog was vital. Indonesia was in short of food, agricultural productivity was low, farmers and consumers were equally poor. The Old Order government acted because of the people\'s three demands by students, one of which was to lower the prices of rice.
One of Bulog\'s successes was together with the government to set the upper ceiling prices and basic prices of rice. That way, the farmers and consumers were equally protected from price fluctuations during harvests and famine.
Bulog also succeeded in establishing adequate rice stocks of 7 percent to control the national rice prices. As a result, Indonesia became self-sufficient in rice in 1984 and was recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The success to control prices by Bulog until the 1990s was also supported by the presence of village cooperative units (KUD), which were in charge of distributing fertilizer, seeds and production facilities on time for member farmers as well as accommodating harvests to enable Bulog to easily get food stock.
The impact of the rising agricultural productivity and guaranteed prices was overproduction. By the end of the 1990s Bulog was late in anticipating this change in building the food agro-industry. We frequently hear that prices fall during harvests and rise during the interval to the next harvests.
Ahead of its 50th anniversary, Bulog is again carrying out a transformation. This time, together with the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Areas and Transmigration, it will build PT Mitra BUMDes Nusantara, a holding company for the village-owned companies. The holding company will accommodate and market products of the village-owned companies and at the same time strengthen the structure of BUMDes.
It will be better for Bulog to facilitate BUMDes to build the agro-industry to increase added value in villages, support new entrepreneurs in villages and produce various products in line with the needs of the community.
Bulog will not just become a food buffer body, but also take part in building the national economy, reducing the imbalance of prosperity and enforcing national food sovereignty.
