JAKARTA (September 30, 2022) – Social Granary Program is one of the keys, as well as a bright spot in responding to the biggest challenges that are often faced, especially the difficulty of distributing logistical assistance to locations when a disaster occurs. This was conveyed by the Head of the Pacitan Regency Social Office, Sumorohadi.

 

He said that in disaster management, sending logistics to disaster-affected locations took quite a long time. "Logistics for people who needs it when a disaster occurs takes time to be distributed to disaster victims. Now, if we calculate, for example, we take (logistics) from Jakarta or Bekasi (to Pacitan), this will take quite a long time. We just pass the toll road (takes time) up to 10 hours,” said Sumorohadi recently.

 

This distribution was hampered by the length of time and distance traveled, while disaster assistance was needed in a fast and short time so that a solution is needed to deal with the anxiety that was often experienced.

 

It didn't stop there, Sumorohadi added an example of a major flood disaster that hit the area in Pacitan Regency five years ago. “In 2017, a big flood hit Pacitan Regency. The disaster caused several routes to Pacitan Regency to be cut off,” he said looking back at the flood incident.

 

In addition to the distance traveled, various other possibilities can be an obstacle to distribution. For example, roads are cut off, access cannot be passed because they are closed, and other possibilities can become obstacles during the distribution of aid.

 

This was made clear by the Head of Kiteran Village, Rembang Sub District, Pacitan District, Slamet Riyadi, who said that when the disaster occurred, the people experienced food shortages due to the cut-off road access to the location.

 

“At that time, our hamlet had difficulty getting food. It is quite difficult to rely on outside assistance because logistics distribution is hampered by the cut-off access to Pacitan due to floods and landslides," explained Slamet.

 

Reflecting on the obstacles that are often experienced, the Ministry of Social Affairs established Social Granary Program as an effort to meet basic needs in dealing with disasters in the form of buffer stocks of consumables, as well as other social assistance.

 

The social granary for disaster relief logistics assistance in disaster-prone areas is stored in a room owned by the local government or based on local wisdom, and the community agreed that it is stored in a room not owned by the government. Meanwhile, the management, recording, and reporting are carried out by officers appointed by the Decree of the Village Head where the Social Granary is stored.

The existence of this program was welcomed by the Head of the Prevention and Preparedness Section of the Pacitan Regional Board for Disaster Management (BPBD), Diannitta Agustinawati. According to him, the Social Granary in Pacitan Regency was quite effective and helps in meeting the logistics needs of the community during a disaster, given the geographical conditions of Pacitan which are quite far apart between villages.

"The distance between one village and another in Pacitan is quite far, if there was already a Social Granary there, it would have been quicker to assist the community," said Diannitta.

Meanwhile, in a separate place, a Member of Commission VIII DPR RI, Bukhari also expressed his full support for the existence of this Social Granary. In addition to providing convenience for the Ministry of Social Affairs in distributing aid during emergency conditions, Social Granary is also able to provide a quick response to disaster-affected communities.

"We fully support the existence of Social Granary, because this will provide comfort and convenience for MoSA to help disaster-affected communities, and they will also benefit from MoSA’ quick response," he concluded.