Deputy minister taps cooperatives to boost sugarcane farmers' welfare

Medan, N Sumatra (ANTARA) - Deputy Agriculture Minister Sudaryono is pushing for the strengthening of cooperative management to boost sugarcane farmers' welfare, a move aimed at driving up productivity, strengthening partnerships, and ultimately securing national sugar self-sufficiency.

"We are currently focusing on boosting productivity and ensuring farmers thrive. We want to route the business pipeline through cooperatives so the flow of goods from villages to cities, and vice versa, runs much smoother," he said in a statement confirmed on Wednesday.

The deputy minister highlighted the commitment while attending a socialization event for the Revolving Fund Management Agency (LPDB) funds for cooperatives, alongside Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono in Semarang, Central Java, on Tuesday (July 14).

According to Sudaryono, cooperatives do more than just ease access to financing for farmers; they also guarantee crop absorption, strengthen bargaining power, and serve as a driving force to ramp up national sugar production.

He underscored that cooperatives play a strategic role in strengthening the agricultural business ecosystem.

He affirmed that the government under President Prabowo Subianto's direction continues to push for farmers' business activities to be managed through cooperatives, ensuring greater benefits for their members.

The deputy minister added that efforts to improve sugarcane farmers' livelihoods also include raising crop productivity and sugar yield rates.

He noted that Indonesia's success in achieving self-sufficiency in consumption sugar hinges on these ongoing efforts to boost productivity driven by both the government and farmers.

Minister Ferry stated that strengthening sugarcane farmers' cooperatives involves more than just LPDB financing; it also requires mentoring and governance upgrades to make them more professional.

Ferry explained that farmers' harvests pooled through cooperatives will be absorbed by sugar mills to be processed into consumption sugar.

The product will then be marketed, including through village cooperative networks, to streamline the supply chain and give farmers guaranteed market access.

The minister added that his ministry will continue to bolster its synergy with the Ministry of Agriculture to build modern, professional, and competitive economic institutions for farmers—a collaboration expected to support farmers' welfare improvement and strengthen national food security.

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Translator: Muhammad Harianto, Raka Adji

Editor: Azis Kurmala

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