"If I wanted to sell crops back then, I have to come to Japan and enter weeks of negotiation to sell Toraja Coffee. Now, it can be done in bed using a handphone," Limpo said during the soft launch of a millennial farmers' training program here on Monday.
He said that the advancement of technology must be followed by a shift in business methods, especially in agriculture.
He opined that continuing to use old business methods in farming can cause farmers to fall behind.
Limpo asserted that the agriculture sector must be pushed in order to support the national economy, considering that the sector has seen positive growth compared to other sectors during the pandemic.
The agriculture sector contributed 16.24 percent toward job creation in the second quarter of 2020, he highlighted.
"During COVID-19, one of (the sectors) that survived is agriculture. It can even be a part of a guaranteed solution toward COVID-19 and economic turbulence," Limpo said.
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The minister urged millennial farmers during the training event to inculcate a strong spirit and resilience.
In addition, he also asked them to conduct down-streaming of crop harvest to improve the value of their produce.
He underlined that Indonesia is an agrarian nation and thus suited for agriculture businesses.
To this end, Indonesia requires new mindsets and breakthroughs by millennials in order to advance domestic agriculture, he said.
Based on research conducted by the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), the GDP (gross domestic product) from the agriculture, forestry, and fishery sectors has continued to grow from Rp1.409.06 trillion in 2014 to Rp2.115.09 trillion in 2020, he pointed out.
It should be noted, however, that the increase was gradual, the minister said.
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Translator: Aditya Ramadhan, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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