Jakarta (ANTARA) - Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo and Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Minister Teten Masduki have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to pursue collaboration in developing farm sector downstreaming.
“The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that agriculture is promising, no matter the condition. I expect that today (Tuesday) serves as an important (moment). Do not hesitate to work with us. We are ready to develop the agriculture (sector) with cooperatives,” Minister Limpo said after signing the MoU at the Agriculture Ministry's Office here.
The agreement between the two institutions is a symbol of efforts to improve Indonesians' welfare by pursuing farm business development as well as the downstreaming of farm products through the relevant micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), he added.
He also stressed the vital role of cooperatives in the agriculture sector. People's business credit enables farmers to use new downstreaming technology to improve the quality and quantity of farm products so they have good quality and can be sold overseas, he explained.
Business market and market planning by cooperatives can also assist farmers in supplying farm commodities in an efficient and sustainable manner, hence farmers who are part of cooperatives and MSMEs can live more prosperous lives, he pointed out.
“The Agriculture Ministry will engage in cultivation, and of course, we expect the Cooperatives and SMEs Ministry to facilitate the business plan and market well," Limpo added.
Minister Masduki concurred with Limpo's statement, saying that the ministries' cooperation is a follow-up to past ones and was forged considering that many who are engaged in the agriculture sector are also a part of MSMEs.
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"Our challenge is that some 13.4 million business players in the farm sector still have small (scopes) and they are still (working as) individuals. Around 90 percent of poultry business players in Indonesia are (working) independently and individually, so they have difficulty when faced with conglomeration," Masduki explained.
He said he expected that the cooperation will allow for the development of farm business models in which small-scale farmers are paired with cooperatives so that the farmers' economy can improve.