"We must not let farmers continue to sell unhulled rice. We must stop the practice. Farmers must be able to sell rice in packages to consumers in order to make more profit," he stated at the State Palace here on Thursday.
The president opened the Asian Agriculture & Food Forum (ASAFF) 2018 at the State Palace. The forum was attended by hundreds of farmers and members of the Indonesian Farmers Association (HKTI).
The farmers can control the marketing network by selling their products through online stores or marketing it online themselves, he remarked.
"The marketing of a product must be done by the farmers themselves. They can make profit from the rice trade," he noted.
The president further recalled his recent visit to Indramayu district, West Java, where farmers and state-owned enterprises established a limited liability company.
"The production process is good. The drying process is not conducted at home but at rice milling units, to enable the rice quality to increase to premium from medium because the quantity of broken rice is small," he explained.
The rice is immediately packed and branded in such a way, so that it would attract consumers, he revealed.
The president added that the government has channeled fund to villages, and nearly 40 percent of the fund is channeled through the Agriculture Ministry.
He elaborated that the amount of fund rose sharply to Rp187 trillion in the fourth year. The fund amounted to Rp20 trillion in the first year, increased to Rp47 trillion in the second year, and further rose to Rp60 trillion in the third year.
Reported by Hanni Sofia
EDITED BY INE
(T.S012/B/KR-BSR/A014)
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
