Agricom.id, JAKARTA – The economic progress in Indonesia in the second quarter 2020 was minus 5,32%. This made the member of Commission IV, Indonesian Legislators, Johan Rosihan sorry. He hoped that the government could do the right thing to save the economy in the third quarter to be positive again.

“I urged that the government makes the agriculture sector as the locomotive to save Indonesia from the economic recession. The agriculture has proved to contribute and save the economy during the pandemic,” he said, Saturday (8/8) as in the official statement to Agricom.id.

Central Bureau of Statistic noted that the agriculture hit the highest progress in the second quarter of 2020 reaching 16,24%.

"In the future, the agriculture should be the mainstay to mobilize the economic activity. The policy should prioritize the agricultural sectors in the wider perspective to keep moving and developing,” he said.

He also mentioned that many experts and academy suggested that the agriculture should be the prior thing for the government to save this country from the economic recession.

Meanwhile, Head of Public Relation and Information, Ministry of Agriculture, Kuntoro Boga Andri said that ministry of agriculture led by Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo in the pandemic has done the right things.

"Covid-19 pandemic is certainly the obstacle. Ministry of agriculture has formulated emergency agendas/short term (agendas), such as, the food price stability, such as, the price control, farmers’ fund facility, and agricultural works,” he said.

The other agency, he continued is the temporary/mid-term agenda through local food diversification, supporting the deficit regions, and anticipating the drought.

The third agenda, he mentioned, as thee permanent/long term agenda is making the extensification of the food plantation, increasing the production per year, developing the farmers’ corporates, and developing the millennial farmers.

“These would be achieved by the supports from stakeholders. Ministry of agriculture would collaborate with others. Hopefully, the moment of independence-day could increase our work in all sectors to positively develop,” he said.

Knowing this, Johan urged the government to publish the policy to multiply the significant budget to agriculture sector, including the food plantations sub sectors, such as, the plantation, livestock, fishery, maritime, and forestry because these are the keys to recover the economy nationally.

He told that the agricultural industries in the domestic need to get better and should eliminate the import dependency. He told that the policy to publish needs to minimize the economic recession.

“It needs to make the sustainability program in the food sector to be the key from the economy sustainability to have food security as part of strategy nationally,” he said.

He also criticized the government which gave lots of stimulus for the corporates or big companies but they do not give impacts to the increasing production in the domestic.

“It is better for the government to focus and boost the agriculture sector, protect the agriculture commodities so that the farmers would get decreasing price and the people would be able to buy again,” he said. (A2)