Agriculture Ministry Supervises Integrated Poultry Downstream Processing in Gorontalo to Strengthen Smallholder Farmers
Jakarta — The Agriculture Ministry is guiding the development of integrated poultry downstream processing in Gorontalo Province as a step to strengthen smallholder farmers’ positions within the national livestock industry chain.
Agung Suganda, Director-General of Livestock and Animal Health at the Agriculture Ministry, said the government is present to ensure the downstream processing programme genuinely benefits smallholder farmers.
“In accordance with the directive of the Agriculture Minister and Head of the National Food Agency (Andi Amran Sulaiman), the state is present in integrated poultry downstream processing to strengthen food security whilst improving farmer welfare,” Agung said in a statement in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He conveyed that the programme is expected to provide business certainty, expand market access, and increase the welfare of smallholder farmers in the regions.
This commitment was marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Gorontalo Provincial Government and PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (Persero) or ID FOOD during a joint meeting with the Agriculture Ministry and PT Berdikari at Wisma Danatara Indonesia.
Through the integrated poultry downstream processing scheme, the development of the livestock industry will be built comprehensively, starting from the provision of animal feed raw materials, breeding, cultivation, to product processing.
“This model is expected to create a more efficient supply chain whilst strengthening the role of local farmers in a more modern and sustainable livestock industry ecosystem,” he said.
According to him, the development of integrated poultry industry is one important step to strengthen the structure of smallholder livestock farming to be more efficient, competitive, and have market certainty.
“The government wants smallholder farmers to be protected and empowered by integrating them into more modern production systems. This way, efficiency increases, market access opens up, and farmer income also rises,” he explained.
Gorontalo Governor Gusnar Ismail said that support for the central government programme is an important driver for accelerating the development of the agricultural and livestock sectors in the region.
He noted that Gorontalo has significant potential to support the development of integrated poultry industry, particularly in terms of the availability of animal feed raw materials.
“Gorontalo’s maize production reaches approximately 1.5 million tonnes per year. This is a significant potential as raw material for animal feed in the development of poultry downstream processing,” Gusnar said.
With support for this programme, Gusnar said, they are optimistic that the agricultural and livestock sectors in Gorontalo will continue to develop.
He added that the development of industry downstream processing is believed to be capable of driving regional economic growth whilst opening new business opportunities for the community, including local farmers.
Meanwhile, Ghimoyo, Chief Executive Officer of PT Rajawali Nusantara Indonesia (Persero) or ID FOOD, explained that this integrated poultry downstream processing project is also designed to strengthen the role of regional business actors within the national livestock industry chain.
“If there are interested partners, we will prioritise local partners from Gorontalo so that this industrial development truly provides economic impact for the local community,” Ghimoyo said.
According to him, the development of integrated poultry industry is also projected to support national priority programmes, including the Free Nutritious Meals Programme (MBG), through strengthening stable and sustainable poultry supply.
Separately, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman affirmed that the government will continue to encourage the development of downstream processing in the agricultural and livestock sectors in various regions so that smallholder farmers and livestock farmers obtain greater added value.
“Downstream processing must provide added value to the region and farmers,” Amran said.
He emphasised that local farmers become part of a strong value chain from upstream to downstream, and therefore need to be supported so that their businesses are more sustainable and their welfare improves.