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Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration, Abdul Halim Iskandar, giving a speech during his visit to Wedani village, Cerme district, Gresik Regency, East Java on Saturday. (ANTARA/HO-Aries) - 

Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Abdul Halim Iskandar has asked villages to think beyond tourism and focus on making good quality and a greater variety of indigenous products. 

"It is not necessary for all villages to create tourist villages. However, they can be more varied in making superior products, for example, this Wedani woven fabric product," he said while visiting Wedani village here on Saturday.

He said his observation was based on the availability of superior products in the village, including woven handicraft products that could penetrate the export market.

"As the detection of poverty in the village is easy to do. So poverty alleviation could be carried out on target," Iskandar observed.

"Along with the Village SDGs target, whose goal is to realize village independence, Wedani has been working on this target (poverty alleviation),” he said during a limited dialogue on industrial synergy and village local potential held by the Regional People's Representative Council (DPRD) of Gresik district.

The minister emphasized that village independence is aimed at eliminating poverty at the village level.

He said he hoped that the success of Wedani village would serve as a model for other villages, so that village economic diversification can be realized.

Meanwhile, Gresik Regent Fandi Akhmad Yani, who accompanied the minister during his visit, said that his region is currently focusing on developing the village’s micro economy through the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The regent then described the potential for developing MSMEs and producing many superior products in Gresik Regency.

"In addition to Wedani weaving, which has penetrated exports, there is also potential in milkfish fisheries, with a turnover value up to more than Rp1 trillion a year. This will increase people's economy who have been hit hard during this pandemic," he pointed out.

The region will strengthen the MSMEs sector with regulations that would make it easier to operate businesses, the regent said.

"Together with the Gresik DPRD, we are committed to simplifying the licensing process, opening access to capital and markets," he added//ANT