Ministry of Villages signs more than 70 agreements to strengthen the rural economy
Sumedang (ANTARA) - Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Kemendes PDT) has established more than 70 collaborations through memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with various sectors to strengthen the village economy. The Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions, Yandri Susanto, in Sumedang, West Java, on Thursday stated that rural development cannot be undertaken alone and requires broad collaboration among stakeholders.
“We have entered into more than 70 MoUs and collaborations with various ministries, institutions, BUMN (Badan Usaha Milik Desa), and even foreign parties. Because rural development cannot be done in isolation,” he said.
He emphasised that the approach to village development is based on a ‘super team’ collaboration concept in line with the President’s directive to build the country’s economy.
“Indonesia has 75,266 villages. So if the Minister for Villages had to visit all villages every day, it would not be easy to complete. Therefore collaboration is necessary. Our President says we must be a super team,” he explained.
Kemendes PDT also notes that villages play a strategic role because most national food needs come from rural areas, ranging from rice, maize, vegetables, fruits, to animal protein.
On that occasion, the Minister also touched on the development of Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDes) which is one of the priority programmes in cross-sector collaborations.
Moreover, several BUMDes have successfully penetrated export markets in countries such as Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and South Africa through flagship village products.
“BUMDes have exported potatoes, cattle products, and fish to Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. Some villages generate revenues of Rp17.6 billion, others Rp28 billion per year,” he said.
The Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions emphasises that all collaborations and programme strengthening, including BUMDes development, are aimed at achieving economic equity and poverty alleviation in villages.