Agricom.id, JAKARTA - Ministry of Agriculture Indonesian Republic commits to encourage the economic progress nationally by increasing the production and exports through the long term program called Gerakan Tiga Kali Ekspor (Geratieks). Minister of Agriculture, Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL) thought that the agriculture proves to survive from the economic crisis because of Covid – 19 pandemic.

SYL in webinar with Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) said that the agriculture could make the economy better nationally because Indonesia has the promising natural resources and lots of human resource. In addition, kinds of food material are still not processed maximally.

“The agriculture has something to do with the basic and primary needs and they never stop. These are the important factors to develop the agriculture in any crisis,” SYL said, Monday (30/11/2020) as in the official statement to Agricom.id.

SYL thought that the agricultural development is known from the contribution in gross domestic products for the last two quarters. Based on Central Bureau of Statistics, the agriculture in the second quarter reached 16,24 percent. Though it decreased a little bit, but the agriculture still increased 2,15 percent in the third quarter.

The exports of agriculture in January - September 2020 increased 10,12 percent, from Rp 276,59 billion to be Rp 304,57 billion. The numbers were the highest in the last seven years. The farmers’ exchange rate and the agricultural business exchange rate increased 0,58 percent and 0,66 percent for each in October 2020.

SYL said that it needs digital intervention to implement science and technology research to make innovative breakthrough to develop agriculture. Ministry of Agriculture now has Agriculture War Room (AWR) to be the central data of production.

“The quality of technology intervention is important. In the future we would do the beast to accelerate everything and Insya Allah in 2021 every kind of agriculture could run within the help of modern technology,” he said.

Executive Director of Indef, Ahmad Tauhid told that the agriculture is the positive sector for the last three quarters in a row. But the future challenges in agriculture would be more complex.

“I think there would be different situation next year and we do hope that SYL would have visions and notes to strengthen the future agriculture,” he said. (A2)