Modernization of Lumbung Pangan Program in the Pandemic

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identified the innovation of "Lumbung Pangan" program in East Java. Covid-19 has given a major impact on various sector, one of them is in the agricultural sector. The impacts were caused by several things, such as; restrictions on the mobility, market and restaurants' working hours, a decrease in income, a reduction in purchasing power the unpredictability in distribution and production of agricultural products. The regulation established by the Indonesian Government is by implementing Large-Scale Social Restrictions or PSBB (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar) throughout the whole country. The implementation of the PSBB is also followed by the East Java government to limit the public's mobility to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Before the pandemic, East Java's economy from 2017 to 2019 experienced an increase up to 5%. However, in 2020 it decreased to 2.39%. The economic deterioration was caused by many business fields facing negative growths and a lot of companies terminated their employee's contract. It causes the number of poverties is escalating by 0.89%. To overcome this problem, the East Java government created an innovation to save food security by optimizing an online-based program named "Lumbung Pangan Jatim" by collaborating with private companies. This research used literature-study approach by looking for sources that can support the research. The results in this study shows that lumbung pangan can be recommended to the stakeholders as an alternative strategy for dealing with unexpected environment situations and conditions.