Zulkifli Hasan: People as the Pillar of National Economic Development
Kupang (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs, Zulkifli Hasan, emphasised the importance of prioritising the people as the main pillar of national economic development.
“Large-scale plantations should allocate 80% to smallholder farmers. Large businesses should not have it all. The ownership should be with the people, not conglomerates,” he said in Kupang on Friday.
He made these remarks while delivering a public lecture at Stikom Uyelindo in Kupang, as part of his working visit to the city.
According to Zulkifli Hasan, during the reform era, the economic system shifted towards a free market, making it easier for those with large capital to dominate various economic sectors.
“This situation often makes small communities the victims. This is what President Prabowo is trying to correct,” he said in his lecture.
He said that strengthening the people’s economy is being done to ensure that farmers and breeders obtain better welfare through food self-sufficiency and community empowerment.
“If harvesting rice requires 24 people per day, with technology, it can be done in one day for 24 hectares,” he said.
The use of technology, he added, is not only for harvesting but also includes fertilising and watering using drones and other modern technologies.
He also mentioned the government’s policy regarding people’s business credit, which aims to have lower interest rates so that small communities can more easily access business financing.
“Almost every village has Mekar credit with an interest rate of 24%. Currently, the President’s directive is that credit applications from the people should have a maximum interest rate of 8%,” he said.
Meanwhile, during a public lecture at STIKES Kupang, he stated that the presence of nutritionists is currently very much needed throughout Indonesia.
Currently, every SPPG (Early Childhood Education Institution) is required to have nutritionists, while the number of available personnel is still very limited. This condition creates great job opportunities for nutrition graduates.
According to him, the need for nutritionists will continue to increase along with the implementation of the Free Nutritious Meal Program, which is one of the government’s priority programs in improving the quality of Indonesia’s human resources.
The Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs began his working visit by distributing 1,000 food packages to members of the Indonesian Bethel Church (GBI) NTT in Kupang, followed by delivering public lectures to students at STIKES, Muhammadiyah University, and Stikom Uyelindo.
In his final agenda, he inaugurated the DPW (Regional Executive Board) and DPD (Regional Branch Board) of PAN NTT, which was also witnessed by a number of PAN administrators, cadres and volunteers, as well as the Governor and Deputy Governor of NTT and the Chairman of the NTT DPRD.