Dialogue between President of the Republic of Indonesia and Farmers in Bansari Village, Bansari District, Temanggung Regency, Central Java Province, 14 December 2021

Farmer
We hope that later for post-harvest stage, we can be facilitated, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
What do you need?

Farmer
Maybe we can have a post-harvest storage.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Storage house?

Farmer
Yes, sir. And then…

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Why do you need a storage house? You can just store it in your own house.

Farmer
There’s not enough room, sir. (inaudible) here, sir. In a season like this, I also experience a shortage of manure, sir. Cow manure, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Alright, It means, what? It means there is a need of a storage house. Where do you want it to be?

Farmer
In Gapoktan (farmers’ group association), sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Where in Gapoktan? Oh, in the village?

Farmer
Yes, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
I see. So what kind? What kind of storage house?

Farmer
Regular storage, sir. Just regular storage house.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Won’t it rot quickly?

Farmer
No, sir. We have a cooler weather.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Don’t you need a cold storage? It is for… No? Do you need it? No?

Farmer
No, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
No? That means [regular] storage house?

Farmer
Yes, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
What about the size?

Farmer
If possible 10×20 or 10x…

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
10×20. Storage house? Do you really need it? Why don’t you store it in your own house?

Farmer
There is not enough room.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
I just want to make sure that you really need the storage house.

Farmer
We do, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Can you keep it at home?

Farmer
We cannot, sir. The smell of the garlic and shallot is strong.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Oh, the smell is a problem, alright, alright.

Farmer
Many have young kids, it is nauseating for them, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
But why… storage house, is it not sold immediately?

Farmer
We can sell it immediately, but we need the seeds for the next planting, sir. We are afraid that there will be a shortage of seeds.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
I see, including to store the seeds for the next planting.

Farmer
Exactly, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Of course, Mr. Minister, Minister of Public Works and Public Housing, please note.

Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (Basuki Hadimuljono)
Yes, sir. They can benefit from PISEW program, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
I’ll call later.

Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (Basuki Hadimuljono)
How much land does one farmer have?

Farmer
It is approximately 30-40 hectares, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
One farmer?

Farmer
No. One group, sir. It is for a group, not one farmer.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
How about the floor? Ceramic tile or what?

Farmer
No need, sir. Just cement.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Alright, cement.

Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (Basuki Hadimuljono)
And for… that one, right?

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
The roof?

Farmer
Yes. The frame.

Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (Basuki Hadimuljono)
The frame. Yes, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Do you get the idea, Mr. Minister? Is the land available?

Farmer
Yes, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Available already? That is great.

Farmer
Village land. (inaudible) on top of it, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Alright. Mr. Minister?

Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (Basuki Hadimuljono)
Yes, sir.

Farmer
The village land, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Sure.

Farmer
Also, about garlic harvest, sir. We hope you reduce the import so we can enter the market in Jakarta, sir. This place is the source of garlic, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Importing after harvest time?

Farmer
Yes.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Alright. Mr. Minister of State Secretary please let Minister of Trade know.

Minister of State Secretary (Pratikno)
Yes, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Call Minister of Trade now.

Farmer
Excuse me, Mr. President. I want to share, I hope that farmers in Temanggung can be more modern. I’ve handled around seven greenhouses for melons. So…

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Greenhouse?

Farmer
Greenhouse for premium melons.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
That is great. I like that.

Farmer
From the village, we can send it to the capital.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Where are the greenhouses?

Farmer
In my hamlet, sir. It’s located down below.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Is it filled with plants already?

Farmer
Yes, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Inside the greenhouse?

Farmer
Yes, inside the greenhouse, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Where did you get the greenhouse? Did you make it yourselves?

Farmer
We made it ourselves, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
So, you didn’t buy the one ready to assemble?

Farmer
No, sir. The craftsmen were also from the surrounding community.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Please, continue.

Farmer
So, we hope that Temanggung will have 1,000 green houses, sir. So it can continue to produce melons because the demand in the market is very, very…

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Very big.

Farmer
Yes.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
How much is for one greenhouse?

Farmer
It is Rp100 million for a 300 square meter semi-permanent greenhouse.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Rp 100 million for 300 square meters?

Farmer
Yes.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Then, what about the 1000 [greenhouses], what do you mean?

Farmer
That’s for the greenhouse itself, Mr. President.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
I mean, would you take Smallholder Business Credit (KUR)?

Farmer
About KUR, God willing, we will do it. For example, I took the two-year one, God willing, I can pay it off before two years.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Please link them if available. If there is a budget in Ministry of Agriculture, please use it. In a case like this usually, there is a lack of market. Take the goods to Lulu, there will be a queue, the goods from the greenhouse have good quality.

Minister of Agriculture (Syahrul Yasin Limpo)
We can apply it in the millennial farmer program.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
We should support these youths. There is technology here, there are greenhouses. A very good one. Hello, Mr. Minister.

Minister of Trade (Muhammad Lutfi)
Yes, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Mr. Minister, I am with farmers in Temanggung. All of them have the same complaints. During garlic harvest time or shallot, the imported garlic or shallot came in. Their complaints are always the same. Wait, garlic or shallot?

Farmer
Garlic, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Garlic. Garlic is right. Yes. Yes. I just planted shallots, rather confused. So we also have garlic here but their complaint is that they often don’t want to plant it anymore because the price drops when the import comes in. I think that is all. This is in Bansari district in Temanggung regency.
Yes. Yes, Mr. Minister.
Alright, thank you. Thank you.
I have ordered the Minister directly. But if there’s more, I’ll ask for the phone number so it’s easy to call. So, what about the greenhouse?

Farmer
Well, to meet the needs of the vendors, there is a shortage, sir.  For example, they need two tons for one week but we can only…

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
So, how much do you need? How much land is there, how many greenhouses do you need, how much funds do you need?

Farmer
If this is for… I am in Gapoktan, sir, there are 14 farmer groups.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Fourteen?

Farmer
Fourteen.  So, for example, there are 14, if we have the greenhouses, we can continuously produce and we can supply

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
How many? 1000? How many was it? 1000 greenhouses?

Farmer
We hope for 1000 greenhouses in Temanggung, sir.

Farmer
Ten first. Ten first. So each of the groups has a greenhouse, has its activities, sir. During the rainy season, we work in the greenhouse. In the afternoon.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Is it near your house or?

Farmer
Near the house, we can just walk.

Central Java Governor (Ganjar Pranowo)
Alright. Ten first, alright?

Farmer
Sure, sir.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Ten for one billion. Is it correct?

Farmer
Yes.

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Joko “Jokowi” Widodo)
Yes. That is interesting.

(FI/MMB)