Cabinet Secretariat Holds Third Series of FGD on Structural Transformation in Agricultural Sector

Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Food Security, Research, and Technology Ida Dwi Nilasari opens a virtual Focus Group Discussion under the theme ‘Structural Transformation in Agricultural Sector as an Effort to Speed Up National Economic Growth, Third Series’, Wednesday (31/3). (Photo by: PR of Cabinet Secretary/Oji)

Cabinet Secretariat on Wednesday (31/3) held a virtual Focus Group Discussion (FGD) under the theme “Structural Transformation in Agricultural Sector as an Effort to Speed Up National Economic Growth, Third Series”.

The FGD this time adopted the theme “Learning from Other Countries to Speed Up the Synergy of Agricultural Sector and Processing Industry”.

The FGD featured speakers from a host of research and development institutions, including Head of Biomaterials Research Center of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) Iman Hidayat, Director of the Center for Agricultural Production Technology from the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) Budi Iskandar, and a researcher at the Institute for Development Economics and Finance (INDEF) Rusli Abdullah.

“This FGD aims to seek more detailed recommendations resulting from the first and second series of the FGD activities. The benchmarking from developed agro-industrial countries is necessary to be adapted according to the needs of agro-industrial development in Indonesia,” Assistant to Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture, Food Security, Research, and Technology Ida Dwi Nilasari said.

According to Ida, there are two recommendations from the first series of the FGD held in November last year, namely related to industrial development that needs to focus on the agricultural industry with abundant domestic raw materials availability and high comparative advantages among regions, and related to the systematic and massive development and regeneration of agricultural human resources that will be adjusted to the regional economic potential to boost regional entrepreneurship.

“The second series of the FGD with the theme “Creating the Linkage and Synergy between Agricultural Sector and Manufacturing Industry” has resulted in a recommendation that upstream and downstream agro-industries need to be developed in Indonesia with a focus on long-term economic growth, employment, and poverty reduction through comprehensive strategic recommendations for national economic recovery,” Ida stated.

Following up the recommendations from the previous FGD activities, Ida continued, Cabinet Secretariat is expected to learn more regarding structural transformation practices in the overseas agricultural sector to be adapted to and applied in the country.

“Cabinet Secretariat is also expected to scrutinize perspectives related to structural transformation practices in the overseas agricultural sector, and propose policy recommendations,” she said.

The series of FGD on structural transformation in the agricultural sector, she added, are based on President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s directives at the Opening of the 2020 Second Asian Agriculture and Food Forum (ASAFF), in March last year, and during a Limited Meeting on Anticipation of the Needs of Basic Necessities in April last year.

“The President said that the Government should carry out policy reforms in the food and agricultural sectors as an effort to meet the basic necessities of the people. The policies and programs in the agricultural development must be carried out from upstream to downstream to provide a greater contribution for economic development and community welfare,” Ida said.

Through a series of the FGD on structural transformation in the agricultural sector, Ida expressed hope that Cabinet Secretariat receives input to formulate the Government policies related to structural economic transformation, particularly in the agricultural sector.

“We hope that the three series of the FGD can provide input for the Government policies related to the structural transformation in agricultural sector, which will lead to improving farmers’ welfare and creating new employments,” she said. (TGH/UN) (RIF/MUR)