Indonesia and China Explore Agricultural and Educational Collaboration in Papua
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia’s Ministry of Transmigration and the Chinese government are developing collaboration in the agricultural and educational sectors to improve the welfare of communities in Papua.
Minister of Transmigration M Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara stated that the cooperation includes, among other things, the construction of a vocational secondary school (SMK) in Merauke, South Papua.
“Education can also serve as a gateway to job provision, which ultimately results in poverty alleviation,” said Iftitah when met by the media in Jakarta on Tuesday.
In addition to educational facilities, he mentioned that his ministry and the Chinese government are also establishing a centre for the development and research of agricultural commodities, particularly rice.
The research is expected to produce rice seed varieties of the highest quality that can yield 6-8 tonnes of rice per hectare of land.
These efforts, he continued, are in line with President Prabowo Subianto’s target to realise food self-sufficiency.
“Food self-sufficiency will ultimately lead to poverty alleviation,” Iftitah stated.
He conveyed that poverty alleviation is one of the main programmes of President Prabowo’s administration.
According to data as of September 2025, the number of extremely poor people has decreased from 3.56 million to 2.2 million, meaning approximately 1.36 million extremely poor individuals have improved their economic status.
“This is one piece of evidence that President Prabowo Subianto has focused intensely on poverty alleviation issues in the 1.5 years of his administration,” Iftitah said.
Previously, the Coordinating Minister for Community Empowerment Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar stated that extreme poverty in 2025 has declined.
“Alhamdulillah, extreme poverty has successfully decreased from 1.26% in March 2024 to 0.78% in September 2025. Approximately 0.48% of the extremely poor population, Alhamdulillah, has improved their status,” said Muhaimin.
He stated that this success affirms the government’s commitment to accelerating the eradication of extreme poverty through strengthened coordination across ministries/institutions and local governments.
This step is part of the implementation of President Prabowo Subianto’s directives as well as the execution of Presidential Instruction No. 8 of 2025 on Poverty Alleviation and the Eradication of Extreme Poverty.