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We will try to offer and encourage farmers to join a cooperative
Jakarta (Armfalcon.com) – The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (Kemenkop UKM) together with Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Brebes Regency Government, Central Java, have agreed to control inflation in food commodities, especially shallots, in an effort to improve the welfare of farmers.
“Shallots contribute to inflation and one of Bank Indonesia’s tasks is how to keep inflation under control,” said Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs Arif Rahman Hakim in a written statement received in Jakarta, Thursday.
Arif said the food group has had a big influence on the national inflation rate. Meanwhile, the government is targeting the inflation rate this year at three plus minus one percent.
In addition to controlling shallot inflation, the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises also focuses on improving the welfare of farmers through farmer corporatization programs and factory sharing which will make it easier for farmers to process shallots so that during the main harvest so that prices remain stable.
The two programs can optimize shallot production results because the business ecosystem from upstream to downstream is reorganized by the cooperative.
“We also have a farmer corporatization program so that farmers can prosper, especially in Brebes where there are many pockets of poverty, so this at the same time raises the welfare of farmers so that they are released from the poverty trap,” he said.
Head of the Tegal Bank Indonesia Representative Office M Taufik Amrozi welcomed the priority program of the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises to improve the welfare of farmers in Brebes Regency through the farmer corporatization program and factory sharing.
By empowering shallot farmers in Brebes it is also hoped that it can help control inflation from the food ingredients group.
“We were recently asked to concern in the food sector, especially controlling food inflation because one of the main sources of problems is there,” said Taufik.
The BI Tegal Representative is also in the middle of providing assistance to garlic farmers. It is targeted that Tegal-Brebes Regency can produce garlic in large volumes so that domestic production can reduce dependence on imports.
“We will continue our efforts to help achieve food self-sufficiency by increasing garlic production. We also hope to work on the garlic’s potential more quickly so that (garlic) imports can decrease,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Acting Regent of Brebes Urip Sihabudin stated that his party would communicate intensively with the Association of Shallot Farmers (Gapoktan) in his area to be able to build formal institutions such as cooperatives.
This is because currently there is an offtaker for garlic products produced by farmers, namely PT Sinergi Brebes Inovasi (SBI), which will absorb shallot production from farmers.
“We will try to offer and encourage farmers to join in a cooperative. Because there are some benefits that farmers may not know when they join a cooperative,” said Urip.
Also read: Minister of Agriculture asks farmers to champion chili-shallots to maintain food inflation
Also read: Surplus production, Ministry of Agriculture guarantees enough shallots until Eid
Also read: A joint production house with shallot clusters will soon be pioneered in Brebes
Reporter: Kuntum Khaira Riswan
Editor: Click Dewanto
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source: www.antaranews.com
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