"Bulog is the absolute off-taker, that is for sure. It is non-negotiable. It cannot harm these millennials," Minister Sulaiman stated in Jakarta on Tuesday.
According to Sulaiman, the Ministry of Agriculture guarantees that the price of harvested dry grain absorbed by Bulog will be at least Rp6,000 per kilogram and does not limit the sale of millennial farmers' harvests to the state-owned company alone. They are free to sell their produce if they get a better price.
"If the price is below Rp6,000, Bulog will be the off-taker. However, if the price is Rp8,000 or Rp 9,000, then sell to whoever offers the best price," he stated.
Furthermore, he explained that apart from ensuring Bulog’s role as the off-taker to attract the interest of young people to farming, the ministry is also working on transforming traditional farming into modern farming which is considered more economically beneficial.
"Generation Z, millennials, would not go to the field if it is unprofitable, dirty, and so on. They will only go if it is profitable," he remarked.
Earlier, Minister Sulaiman targeted 50 thousand millennials to become young farmers, equipping them with agricultural tools and machinery focusing on farming modernization to boost productivity and food security in Indonesia.
Sulaiman highlighted that currently, three thousand students have been involved, including in South Sulawesi, to increase agricultural productivity as part of the program to realize the food self-sufficiency program in Indonesia.
This figure will continue to increase until it reaches 50 thousand young farmers. He highlighted that these thousands of students will be assisted and facilitated with modern agricultural equipment to enable them to earn an income of at least Rp10 million per month.
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Translator: Ahmad Muzdaffar Fauzan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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