Accelerating Economic Transformation, Jokowi Wants All Commodities To Be Encouraged For Downstreaming And Industrialization

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said Indonesia must use the momentum of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis to accelerate economic transformation. He also emphasized that the economy's dependence on the consumption sector must immediately be changed to the production sector. Therefore, he wants all existing commodities to be encouraged for downstreaming and industrialization.

For example, said Jokowi, nickel commodities which in 3 or 4 years will turn into finished goods. Such as lithium batteries, electric batteries, to electric car batteries.

"It is the same with bauxite, then palm oil, which has a lot of derivatives," he said at the Opening and National Seminar of ISEI 2021, Jakarta, Tuesday, August 31.

Not only that, Jokowi also wants the transformation in the agricultural sector to be accelerated. According to him, everything must be prepared from upstream to downstream. Starting from diversifying agricultural commodities to strengthening farmer institutions with a cluster model.

Then, continued Jokowi, business entities owned by farmers, cooperatives and bumdes also need to be developed. Including, the added value of post-harvest also needs to be increased and expand access to marketing by establishing partnerships with industry.

"Access to financing also needs to be simplified and simplified," he said.

In addition, Jokowi claims that the government is consistent in carrying out structural reforms to ensure efforts to create a more attractive and fairer investment climate. This step was carried out by completing the Job Creation Law Number 11 of 2020 and improving the ranking of ease of doing business.

Not only that, said Jokowi, the Risk-Based Online Single Submission (OSS) that has been launched also helps the business world to gain ease, certainty and speed of doing business. For this reason, regional and national economies must be encouraged to grow faster.

Furthermore, Jokowi said that the government's task going forward is to ensure that the good foundations that have been laid are carried out properly and consistently so that it guides steps towards better and stronger improvements in the future.

"But I want to emphasize again that in accelerating economic transformation, synergy is the key. Synergy is needed because the scale of the problem is wide and complex," he said.