VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Illustration : a Farmer in paddy field - 

President Joko Widodo has urged farmers to penetrate the post-harvest sector in order to take advantage of the added value of the agricultural sector.

He delivered his statement during a virtual event broadcast from the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, on Saturday.

By getting involved in the post-harvest sector, farmers can also take part in the downstream activities of agricultural commodities, he said. This is also part of Indonesia's structural transformation, which includes a natural resource downstreaming program, he added.

“We have to conduct this downstreaming in all sectors. Farmers must be strong in farm (cultivation). So, innovation in agriculture and animal husbandry must be expedited. But don't stop there," Widodo remarked.

Downstreaming should be implemented in every sector that utilizes Indonesia's natural resources, he said.

He stressed his commitment to ceasing the exports of raw materials, such as bauxite, copper, tin, and gold, in the next few years.

The government banned the export of nickel ore starting January 1, 2020, based on the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministerial Regulation Number 11 of 2019, he noted. Several years prior, the government had also extensively implemented a nickel downstreaming program, Widodo said.

"Not only nickel('s export) I stop. This year we may stop (exporting) bauxite, next year copper, next year tin, next year gold. There is no such thing as exporting raw materials anymore," he remarked.

Steel, as one of the nickel derivative products, could generate exports of up to US$20.9 billion, a significant increase compared to 2014, when the exports of steel were valued at just US$1.1 billion, he pointed out.

"In 2022, I think we can achieve nickel-specific exports, which can reach US$28–30 billion, that is around Rp420 trillion. That's an estimate," he informed.

Apart from downstreaming, there are several agendas for Indonesia's structural transformation, including digital economic transformation, energy transition, and the development of the national capital in Kalimantan, he said//ANT