Improving Independence And Welfare, Government Collaborates With Astra And LPEI To Develop Export Villages

Signing of the Collective Agreement on Community Economic Empowerment. (Photo: Doc. Coordinating Ministry for the Economy)

JAKARTA - The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs together with the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration (Kemendes PDTT) are working to improve the welfare of the community, especially those in rural areas.

One of them is by developing export-based micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). To that end, the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy and the Ministry of Villages and Regional Development collaborated with PT Astra International Tbk and the Indonesian Export Financing Agency (LPEI), to develop export villages.

"The Coordinating Ministry for the Economy supports the implementation of this cooperation through coordination, synchronization, and control of policies and programs, so that this can achieve the expected targets," said Deputy for Coordination of the Digital Economy, Manpower and MSMEs at the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy M. Rudy Salahuddin in his statement, Sunday 6 March.

The targets of strengthening community entrepreneurship and MSMEs based on the development of superior rural products include increasing the productivity of the lower middle class community, creating job opportunities for people with low education, and creating added value for local potential.

This will ultimately increase the income of rural communities in a sustainable manner and reduce poverty. Export activities of superior rural products produced by MSMEs and BUMDES are also expected to be the driving force for the economy and welfare of rural communities.

On the other hand, PT Astra International Tbk. has developed 930 Astra Prosperous Villages (DSA) with four product clusters, namely the coffee cluster, the marine cluster and the tourism, creative and cultural cluster. Through this collaboration, it is hoped that the programs implemented by the company can be further developed.

Meanwhile, the curation of village potential that has been managed by the Ministry of Villages PDTT and PT Astra International Tbk. will be carried out by LPEI. The selected villages will be given assistance, training, and guidance, starting from the management aspect, increasing production capacity, product standardization certification, business matching, and financing for exporters.

This Collective Agreement will be followed up with the signing of a Collective Labor Agreement (PKB) between the parties, as well as the preparation of action plans in selected locations.