Moeldoko: Growing Village Potential To Reduce Extreme Poverty

Illustration of tourists walking through the tourist village of Penglipuran, Bangli Regency, Bali. ANTARA/Devi Nindy.

JAKARTA - Presidential Chief of Staff (KSP) Moeldoko conveyed that the potential in villages such as agriculture and tourism can be developed to the fullest to reduce the number of people experiencing extreme poverty.

"I see the land here (Tenjolaya Village and Cicurug Sukabumi) is fertile, the water is also a lot. The scenery is also beautiful and the weather is cool. This is a big potential that must be worked on for the welfare of the people," said Moeldoko in a written statement regarding his visit to Tenjoloyo Village and Cicurug, Sukabumi, West Java, Friday July 1st.

Moeldoko was amazed by the potential for agriculture and village tourism in Tenjoloyo and Cicurug villages which could be a big capital to overcome extreme poverty.

He advised the community to open up and seriously work on the potential in the village, especially from the agricultural and tourism sectors. With the development of village potential, it will move and improve the economy of the local community.

"I entrust it to Mr. Camat, working on the potential of the village so that the residents here can improve their lives. So that later there will be children here who can become ministers, become entrepreneurs," said Moeldoko as quoted by Antara.

Moeldoko, who is also the General Chair of the Indonesian Farmers' Harmony Association (HKTI), also provided rice seed assistance to farmers during his visit. The seed, named M-70D, is said to be the result of Moeldoko's research, which is claimed to speed up the planting period, and provide big profits for farmers.

"As Chair of the HKTI, I have a responsibility to improve the fate of Indonesian farmers and agriculture," said Moeldoko after symbolically handing over the seeds to the people of Tenjolaya Village and Cicurug Sukabumi.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the extreme poverty rate in Indonesia in 2021 is 4 percent or 10.86 million people, while the poverty rate is 26.5 million people or 9.71 percent.

President Jokowi targets the extreme poverty rate to reach zero percent by 2024. The President has issued Presidential Instruction (Inpres) Number 4 of 2022 concerning the Acceleration of the Elimination of Extreme Poverty which has been set on 8 June 2022.

The Presidential Instruction mandates 22 ministries, six institutions, and local governments to take the necessary steps according to their respective duties, functions and authorities in accelerating the elimination of extreme poverty.