Food stability is one of the priorities of the Acting Governor of Central Papua Province, Ribka Haluk, in a discussion meeting with representatives from the Bank Indonesia Papua Branch Office and also Bank Papua. One of the solutions offered to be able to suppress the inflationary conditions in the Central Papua community is to implement a cheap market where there are business actors in the logistics sector who sell products at lower prices with the guarantee of cooperation through Bank Indonesia and Bank Papua programs. The strategy used to implement solutions to suppress inflation and maintain food stability is the quick wins strategy that can control prices circulating in the community. Bank Indonesia held a cheap market with assistance from Bank Papua, Bulog as a state-owned company in the logistics sector, farmer groups in Central Papua, and also the surrounding community to work together.
The cheap market was held at MAF Beach, Nabire Regency, Central Papua Province throughout August 2024. The products provided at the cheap market were food products such as rice, vegetables, eggs, and cooking oil. In addition to implementing a cheap market, Bank Indonesia also held a money exchange program for people who had damaged money so that it could be exchanged for new money with the same denomination. The digital payment program using QRIS is also encouraged by Bank Indonesia so that as much as possible transactions that occur during the cheap market will be carried out digitally.
The availability of food at affordable prices is the mission of the cheap market which is an activity resulting from synergy between the regional government, Bank Indonesia, Bank Papua, Farmer Groups, and the community. The introduction of bank products is also carried out at the cheap market. In fact, for people who carry out digital transactions through QRIS payments, they will be given a prize in the form of one liter of cooking oil. The hope is that the community will become more technologically literate and also increase economic transactions so that they can realize stable food prices and reduce inflation in the community.
The hope of the community who also shop at the cheap market is that the prices circulating related to food prices are prices that are indeed affordable for the community. This means that the existing cheap prices are expected to continue to be stable so that people do not have difficulty buying food for everyday needs. In addition, even though the prices are affordable, economic actors also feel the positive impact, especially members of the Farmer Group who get fair prices for the products they produce. The benefits are also felt by anyone who transacts during the cheap market. The local government was also helped by the role of Bank Indonesia Papua Branch Office and also Bank Papua and Bulog in implementing the quick wins strategy to suppress inflation.