Jakarta (ANTARA) - The potential of villages, such as their agricultural and tourism assets, could be tapped and developed extensively to reduce the extreme poverty rate, Chief of the Presidential Staff Office Moeldoko has said.

"I see the fields here (Tenjolaya Village and Cicurug Sukabumi) are fertile. There's also so much water. The scenery is beautiful and the weather is cool. This is a great potential, which must be tapped into for (the sake of) community welfare," he expounded in a written statement.

He said he was amazed by the agriculture and tourism potential of Tenjolaya and Cicurug Sukabumi villages, which could be great assets in eradicating extreme poverty.

He urged the people to grab the opportunity and commit to developing these assets or potentials, particularly in the agricultural or tourism sectors. Utilizing these advantages would help improve the community's welfare.

"I leave it to Mr. sub-district head to tap into the village's potential so the people here have some improvement in their quality of life. So there will be children here who can be ministers, entrepreneurs," Moeldoko said.

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During his visit, he also distributed M-70D seeds to farmers. The seeds were said to be Moeldoko's product from research, which was claimed to be able to accelerate planting period and benefit the farmers greatly.

"As the head of Indonesian Farmers’ Association (HKTI), I have the responsibility to improve farmers' (well-being), as well as (the state of) national agriculture," he said after symbolically handing the seeds to farmers of Tenjolaya Village and Cicurug Sukabumi.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2021, 10.86 million people in Indonesia, or 4 percent of the population, lived in extreme poverty. Meanwhile, the poverty rate was pegged at 9.71 percent or 26.5 million people.

President Joko Widodo is working to bring down the extreme poverty rate to zero percent by 2024. On June 8, 2022, he issued Presidential Instruction Number 4 of 2022 on extreme poverty eradication.

The instruction tasked 22 ministries, 6 agencies, and regional governments with taking the necessary measures, in accordance with their authorities and duties, to eradicate extreme poverty.

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Translator: Indra Arief P, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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