"Indonesia`s geography and climate is very good for coffee plantation, and the fertile land is very wide. I am sure such good natural resources will produce coffee beans with high quality," he stated at the Jember International Coffee Conference (JICC) here, Thursday (Nov 9).
In addition to good natural resources, Indonesia also has competent human resources who can support the growth of the coffee industry, he added.
Mel remarked that Indonesia was ranked fourth among the coffee producers in the world, below Vietnam and Colombia. "Whereas in terms of human resources, Indonesia should be above Vietnam," he noted.
Meanwhile, JICC event organizer I Dewa Ayu Susilawati said the University of Jember had paid great attention to coffee plantation and wanted to add value to coffee production to improve the welfare of the local people.
"Another potential for the development of coffee is the diversification of products that are made of coffee grounds. The coffee grounds form 56 percent of the total production, yet have not been optimally utilized," she stressed.
The main theme of the JICC is Coffee for Social Welfare with the subthemes Coffee for Biotechnology and Agriculture; Coffee for Technology; Coffee for Health; Coffee for Social-Politic and Law; Coffee for Culture and Humanities; Coffee for Education; and Coffee for Economy, Creative Economy and Tourism.
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