He made the statement after a meeting with Minister of Investment and Downstreaming Rosan Perkasa Roeslani in Jakarta on Friday. The meeting agreed on an Rp371 trillion investment to accelerate agricultural downstreaming.
Sulaiman said that in the program's initial phase, the government targets to absorb three million workers over the next three years, or about 1 million people per year.
He emphasized that the government is expediting downstreaming in agriculture to increase the added value of local commodities and generate millions of new jobs.
According to Sulaiman, a pre-feasibility study will soon be completed and submitted to Minister Roeslani for further action.
He said several key commodities will be prioritized in the program, including sugarcane, cocoa, and cashews.
The minister underscored that downstreaming is vital to improving farmers' welfare and enhancing the competitiveness of national commodities.
As an example, he cited the coconut industry, where prices rose from Rp600 (US$0.03) per coconut to Rp3,500 (US$0.20) after local processing was introduced in regions such as North Maluku.
"Previously, coconuts were sold raw with little value. But after domestic processing, prices can increase by up to 500 percent. With a larger industry, the value could rise 20 to 100-fold," he said.
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Translator: Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Anton Santoso
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