BCEOM completes 65 projects and studies

BCEOM completes 65 projects and studies

At present, BCEOM Indonesia has a permanent staff of more than 30 professional expatriates and 200 Indonesians. It has completed more than 65 projects and studies since its establishment here (1982) and is presently focused on the present issues of Indonesian economics, i.e. poverty alleviation (rural) and the environment (rural and urban).

In this context, it is worth naming one project: the Sulawesi Rainfed Agriculture Development Project (SRADP), as two-thirds of the rural population of Indonesia is engaged in rainfed agriculture.

SRADP covers all the four Sulawesi provinces. The sites included in the SRADP have various upland agricultural problems such as unstable soils leading to erosion, inappropriate farming systems, poor agronomic practices and shifting cultivation. Consequently, the SRADP's main objectives are to improve the socioeconomic condition of the participating households, to protect the threatened natural resource environment and to improve conditions for women. To meet these objectives, BCEOM has chosen a farming systems approach to agricultural development with particular attention to soil conservation.

This project, among others dealing with rural and urban poor communities, illustrates the BCEOM's ability and willingness to assist the government in community development.