"There are opportunities in villages. We can create villages specialized in layer chicken, melons, watermelons, and others," he said at the Nusantara Food Summit 2025 in Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday.
According to him, the active role of the younger generation is key to creating self-reliant, productive, and competitive villages.
Susanto asserted that villages are a source of strength, possessing various potentials across sectors, such as agriculture, livestock, and mining.
"In his eight Asta Cita missions, Mr. Prabowo places village development as a key focus. The two key words are economic equalization and poverty eradication," he remarked.
The sixth Asta Cita mission focuses on carrying out development from the village level and from the bottom up for economic equalization and poverty eradication.
This, he further said, reflects the strong commitment of President Prabowo Subianto's administration to bolster village development toward creating economic equity and sustained poverty reduction.
He also highlighted the large potential of villages across various productive sectors, which must be leveraged by young people, including university students.
The minister further underscored that villages are no longer considered underdeveloped areas, but rather new centers of economic growth that can support national development.
To this end, the minister invited village communities, government officials, and especially university students to make the most of the existing potential.
"University students and the younger generation must be the engine of change in villages. Strong villages make a strong Indonesia," he remarked.
To boost growth in villages, the Indonesian government has initiated various programs, including the Red and White Village Cooperatives, which are envisaged as hubs of economic and social services in village communities.
It has also fostered the development of tourism villages across the country, which have created new sources of income for the local communities.
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Translator: Tri Meilani, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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