Agricom.id, BANDUNG - Ministry of agriculture keeps increasing the agriculture products in many regions to contribute more to the economy nationally though it is still in Covid-19 pandemic. Sweet potato is one product of West Java to export to Hongkong.

Governor of West Java, Ridwan Kamil; Director of Beans and Bulb, Ministry of Agriculture, Amirudin Pohan; Regent of Bandung, Dadang Supriatna; the leaders of West Java Province and District of Bandung were in the event.

Ridwan Kamil told that the sweet potato export is the proof of food security in the Covid-19. The province could export it because the domestic production gets better. It needs cooperation between the farmers and the buyers to increase the exports.

“We are preparing it and we would develop resi gudang 4.0, online stores so that the agriculture would be modern and use digital system,” he said when releasing the export in Sub district of Arjasari, District of Bandung, Tuesday (8/9/2020) as in the official statement to Agricom.id.

The man who is famously called Kang Emil also warned the farmers. If they want to do export, they should be serious. Everything should be well prepared should separate the good products so that there would be no issue in the importer countries.

“I am proud that District of Bandung could be surplus and export it. In the future, the agriculture agency should get other countries to export. District of Bandung should focus to agriculture and tourism. Covid-19 taught us that one thing that still survives is agriculture. I hope that the young generations should do agriculture, be the millennial farmers, live in the villages to get income like in the city but you would have a world class – business,” he said.

Regent of Bandung, Dadang Supriatna said that the farmers in the district are now familiar to plant bulbs, called ubi Cilembu. They in 8 sub districts cultivate it. Hongkong is one country to export where the people like to consume bulbs and taro.

“In abroad, the source of carbohydrate is now from bulbs and taro. It was processed to be food and flour. In the future, the exports should not be in the raw materials but we should prepare in the form of flour,” he said.

In the same spot, Director of Bulbs and Bean, Ministry of Agriculture, Amirudin Pohan mentioned that in the Covid-19 pandemic, the agricultural exports still increase 14 percent. Just like what Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo (SYL) told, the strategies to increase the exports, were, the first is we have to increase the production 7 percent and the second is we have to do the best so that the losses could be less than 10 percent. The third is we do gerakan tiga kali ekspor (Gratieks).

"The most important is that ministry of agriculture urged that the upstream to downstream sectors need to make corporate. Just like Minister SYL told, we are taking the banks to distribute kredit usaha rakyat. The upstream sectors should cooperate with the private sectors as the avalis when the farmers need capital,” he said.

He did hope that the farmers in the province, namely in District of Bandung could do the downstream sectors to export. The sweet potato exports by July 2020 reached 9.000 tons nationally.

“I do believe that we could be better in this year. But it needs to study the imports about the form and we have to prepare it in the domestic,” he said.

For information West Java contribute about 18 percent of the sweet potato total exports nationally.

In this year, there have been 1.100 hectares getting the sweet potato helps in the province. The average production of sweet potato is about 20 tons per hectare. Ministry of agriculture encouraged to increase the productivity by planting the superior seeds.

In the other place, General Director of Food Plantation, Ministry of Agriculture, Suwandi did appreciate what District of Bandung exported. He thought that the sweet potato is good to export and some things to be prepared are the continuity of the products and the continuous qualified products.

“Just like the governor said, if we are export oriented, we have to think of the good quality. Then we have to make corporate within the good management. Take the off-taker to guarantee the markets,” he said. (A2)