Day: August 28, 2021

The mangrove planting program developed by the Peatland and Mangrove Rehabilitation Agency (BRGM) in East Kalimantan is benefiting fish farmers and helping preserve the beach environment, an official has said.

“The mangrove planting program is very beneficial for farmers. They feel that mangroves create living space for fish and crabs. Let’s hope that farmers can yield the benefit and the forest can become green once again,” head of a fish farmers group Borneo Mangrove Lestari, Ilham, said.

In a written statement issued here on Saturday, BRGM stated that it has developed mangrove planting programs in Muara Badak, Ulu, and Kutai Karta Negara in East Kalimantan over an area of 162 hectares.

At present, mangroves have been planted in 101.7 hectares in two sectors — sector 1 (around 64.5 hectares) and sector 2 (around 37.2 hectares), Ilham informed.

In addition to the planting process, Borneo Mangrove Lestari has also been sowing mangrove seeds since June 2021 and is now waiting for them to become ready to be transplanted, he added.

The group has been planting Rhizopora mangroves since they are tall enough to grow above the water level in ponds, he explained.

Meanwhile, the Tanger (Ceriops sp) mangrove is shorter, so it can drown easily if the water level in a pond is higher, he added.

Awareness on planting mangroves in this region has grown ever since people saw a couple lands that needed to be rehabilitated, Ilham opined.

Those lands had become barren since the trees had been chopped down to sell wood, he said.

“In addition, farmers were beginning to feel the lessening of income and they began to realize how mangroves can act as a buffer from abrasion,” Ilham elaborated.

The collaboration with BRGM is expected to boost the farmers group’s experience so that, in the future, a beneficial program for citizens can be created, he added.

“I hope that this program can continue and bring benefit to us all and our grandchildren. Let’s hope that our ecosystem can recover,” he remarked.

Source: ANTARA News

BRI League 1 football tournament drives the wheels of the citizens’ economy, according to State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir.

“BRI League 1 drives the economy that involves micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), entrepreneurs, athletes, referees, as well as officials in the sports industry that were brought together to have broader positive impacts,” Thohir stated on his Instagram account @erickthohir on Saturday.

The SOE minister lauded the state-owned bank PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) for being the main supporter for the soccer competition.

“This is the real form of commitment of state-owned enterprises toward citizens,” he added.

Thohir also reminded citizens to comply with health protocols and vaccination conditions while providing support to their favorite soccer teams from their respective homes.

“Come on friends. Let us extend our support from our homes. We will show the world that Indonesia can successfully hold a big sports event by adhering to strict health protocols and conducting vaccination,” he noted.

Earlier, Thohir, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, and representatives from other ministries, the police, the army, the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI), PT Liga Indonesia Baru and other stakeholders attended the opening ceremony of BRI League 1 Indonesia season 2021-2022 in Bung Karno Stadium (GBK).

After the opening remark, the ceremony continued with the transfer of Indonesia’s League 1 season 2019 trophy from the champion Bali United to the PSSI.

Thereafter, the event proceeded to the League 1 season 2021-2022 ball handover from the SOE minister to the PSSI chairman.

PSSI then passed the ball to the FIFA-licensed referee, overseeing the premiere match, Yudi Nurcahya, to symbolically begin the latest League 1 season.

Source: ANTARA News

Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah launched the stage 1 development of the Community-based Vocational Training Center (BLK) in 2021 as part of efforts to improve the competency of the nation’s human resources.

“The establishment of Community-based BLK is a form of effort to spread work training institutions so that they can be accessed by citizens who live far away from the available work training institution locations,” Fauziyah said in a statement released here on Saturday.

The launch was marked by the signing of the 2021 Community-based Vocational Training Center contract between the Manpower Ministry and the aid recipient institution.

The establishment of the BLKs was a breakthrough by President Joko Widodo that began in 2017, Fauziyah said.

As of 2020, the Manpower Ministry has established 2.127 Community-based BLKs across Indonesia, she informed.

After the program and the budget were adjusted, the Ministry aimed to construct 787 BLKs by 2021. In stage I, around 520 Community-based BLKs will be built, and in stage II, around 267 institutions will be built, she said.

It is expected that with the establishment of the BLKs, the improvement of human resources’ competency can be made more effective and through the addition of skilled as well as qualified workforce, the minister explained.

For the 2021 Community-based BLK program, the Ministry has increased the number of training branches by 24, Fauziyah added.

“With the addition to these training branches, I want there to be a link and match with the industry and the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) around the Community-based BLKs,” she remarked.

She also urged the aid recipient institution to conduct the construction process in accordance with the technical guideline that has been published.

The directorate general of the ministry’s vocational training and productivity guidance will strictly oversee the entire process and ensure that the construction is done in a transparent manner, she added.

Source: ANTARA News

Indonesia’s Industry Ministry has constantly monitored industrial activities classified as critical or essential in implementing health protocols during the fully operational trial for the pencil and musical instrument industry.

“Industrial factories that conduct their operations and mobility during the pandemic must implement strict health protocols,” Acting Director-General of Small, Medium and Multifarious Industries (IKMA) of the Industry Ministry Reni Yanita stated on Saturday.

To ensure the implementation of health protocols, Yanita, accompanied by spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, Febri Hendri, visited industrial companies having the industrial operation and mobility permit (IOMKI) — PT A.W. Faber-Castell Indonesia and PT Yamaha Music Manufacturing Asia in Bekasi, West Java, — on August 26.

The two factories fall in the essential sectors included in the health protocol trial during PPKM by operating at 100-percent capacity, so they can meet the needs of the domestic and export markets.

“We want to ensure that they have implemented health protocols and COVID-19 prevention measures, especially companies classified as critical and essential, so that productivity and workforce are maintained,” Yanita affirmed.

This strategic step will continue to be taken while still prioritizing public safety and national economic recovery, she reiterated.

PT A.W. Faber-Castell Indonesia, founded in 1990, is a manufacturer of pencils and colored pencils. This German company has a total workforce of 453 people.

Director of PT A.W. Faber-Castell Indonesia FX Gianto Setiadi remarked that in a bid to implement health protocols, the company had set up a COVID-19 Prevention Task Force team. As many as 324 workers, or 71.5 percent, had also participated in the vaccination program.

The other endeavor to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the factory environment was to run two employee shifts by ensuring 50-percent capacity per shift.

In addition, the factory is providing masks and vitamins, conducting swab tests, spraying disinfectants regularly, screening using the PeduliLindungi application, providing shelters for workers exposed to COVID-19, and implementing 6M and 3T.

Meanwhile, PT Yamaha Music Manufacturing Asia is a company engaged in the manufacture of electronic musical instruments, such as digital pianos, digital drums, analog mixers, and digital mixers, which are marketed to 53 countries. PT Yamaha Music Manufacturing Asia is a Japanese company, with a current workforce of 4,153 people.

President Director of PT Yamaha Music Manufacturing Asia Toshiaki Goto affirmed that the company’s efforts in implementing health protocols comprised forming a Task Force team to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and running an industrial vaccination program.

“We witnessed first-hand that implementation of the health protocols in the two companies was in accordance with the policies set by the government. This can be an example for other industries,” Yanita emphasized.

She later noted that industry is one of the vital economic sectors for Indonesia, as it contributes to state revenue through the achievement of investment value, exports, and taxes, and also plays a role in employment.

“The IOMKI regulation is the government’s effort to keep the industrial sector operating productively, safely, and under control during this pandemic,” she remarked.

In addition to keeping production activities in the industrial sector running, the IOMKI grant also regulates and supervises the implementation of health protocols strictly and consistently by the company management and workers.

Source: ANTARA News

Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has said that the government will not only rely on imports of COVID-19 vaccines for meeting people’s needs, but also support the development of local vaccines.

“The government also continues to encourage the development of national vaccines so that we do not just rely on imported vaccines,” Amin said at the Studium Generale of Nahdlatul Ulama University (UNU) Surabaya, which is joined via video conferencing from his official residence here on Saturday.

Currently, there are two domestically-made COVID-19 vaccines — the Nusantara Vaccine and the Red and White Vaccine, he noted. The government has set a target to produce vaccines and medicines for COVID-19 handling immediately, he added.

“The government targets that in the future, we will be able to produce COVID-19 vaccines and other medicines for the nation’s independence in the field of public health,” Amin said.

Vaccination is one of the government’s priorities in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to implementing the health protocols.

The government is aiming to build community immunity or herd immunity by vaccinating at least 70 percent of the total population of Indonesia.

The implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination is also aimed at reducing the transmission of active cases and the death rate.

“Vaccination is also targeted to help the country achieve herd immunity, and at the same time protect the citizens from COVID-19, so that they remain socially and economically productive,” the Vice President said.

As part of efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has collaborated with several countries for securing COVID-19 vaccines for the people of Indonesia.

As of Friday (August 27, 2021), Indonesia has received 208.7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and distributed 123,256,044 doses to 34 provinces.

Source: ANTARA News

People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) Deputy Speaker Syarief Hasan has voiced support for the Ultra Micro State-Owned Enterprises (UMi SOEs) Holding, saying it could consolidate micro enterprises’ potential and absorb labor.

The holding, which has been formed out of three SOEs — Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), Pegadaian, and Permodalan Nasional Madani (PNM), is focused on empowering micro enterprises and is capable of absorbing the targeted 30 million workers, he noted.

“I support the breakthrough of UMi SOEs Holding establishment. This is a good institutional innovation so that the various scattered potential of micro enterprises can be consolidated well,” Hasan said in a statement issued here on Saturday.

The establishment of the holding is aimed at improving the competitiveness of the micro sector, both nationally and globally, he added.

The synergy between the three SOEs, which have their own respective advantages, is expected to provide significant support to micro enterprises, Hasan opined.

“Bank Rakyat Indonesia has a very broad reach up to remote areas, so micro entrepreneurs can have an integrated funding access with the banking sector,” he explained.

The establishment of UMi SOEs, he continued, is expected to provide sustainable support in terms of funding, entrepreneurial training, and sales strategy so that micro products can become competitive.

With the transformation to the formal sector, micro enterprises can provide optimal support to the nation’s revenues, bring prosperity to workers, and solve the problem of unemployment and poverty, whose prevalence remains high, Hasan said.

“In the digital era, UMi SOEs is expected to become a facilitator and a catalyst in integrating the micro sector into the developing digital market. It is hoped that micro enterprises do not just have domestic reach, it could also reach the global market,” he added.

Source: ANTARA News

Bandung, W Java (ANTARA) – The School of Business and Management (SBM) of the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) has said it is helping the government support the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the halal industry.

These efforts are being implemented in the form of helping MSMEs to become digitally literate, it said.

In a press release issued on Saturday, SBM ITB lecturer Oktofa Yudha Sudrajad said the government, through the National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS), is collaborating with a number of parties to develop halal industry MSMEs.

SBM ITB is also taking part in these efforts and will help MSMEs develop through the utilization of digital technology, he informed.

SBM ITB will develop a module on the application of digital technology in business for SME players, he said. Furthermore, it will organize training on the use of digital technology, he added.

During the training, MSME players will be introduced to subjects ranging from social media, market places, to financial technology (fintech), Sudrajad said. All activities will be carried out online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

Sudrajad expressed the hope that with training, MSME players would recognize the benefits of digital technology and utilize it for their businesses.

After training, MSME players will be monitored by SBM ITB in the use of digital technology, he informed. MSME players will also be able to share their experiences and obstacles faced through an online group chat, he added.

According to Sudrajad, the use of digital technology is a must for SMEs because it can help entrepreneurs reach a broader market, including foreign countries. Thus, it can help increase their turnover, he said.

Meanwhile, National Committee for Sharia Economics and Finance (KNEKS) executive director Ventje Rahardjo said the development of MSMEs is the government’s main agenda. Many efforts have been made so that Indonesian MSMEs can reach the global market, he added.

“However, currently, support for MSMEs is still running individually, not yet coordinated. Therefore, we are synergizing various parties to develop MSMEs,” he remarked.

Source: ANTARA News

The Communication and Informatics Ministry (Kominfo) is working with the Industry Ministry to produce digital talent whose competence aligns with the industries’ requirement as they work to realize the goal of Making Indonesia 4.0.

“The Communication and Informatics Ministry is refocusing its efforts toward creating human resources with digital competence, in line with the industrial requirements. This cooperation is expected to boost the accelerated improvement of human resource competitiveness in the industry as well as communication and informatics sectors,” the ministry’s research and human resource development head Hary Budiarto said in a press release issued here on Saturday.

The Communication and Informatics Ministry and the Industry Ministry’s Human Resource Development Agency (BPSDMI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on industrial human resource development on Friday (Aug 27).

Through the cooperation, both ministries will work in synergy in running their top-notch programs, comprising the digital talent scholarship, 3-in-1 training program, educational program equivalent to Diploma 1, and digital capacity center.

Graduates of the 2021 Digital Talent Scholarship will be offered the opportunity to participate in BPSDMI’s industrial training.

Meanwhile, BPSDMI head Arus Gunawan said that such synergy is aimed at improving technology mastery in order that human resources in the industry sector can be made competitive.

“By building the synergy, we expect that it can support to meet the government’s target through Making Indonesia 4.0 in creating 7-19 million jobs either in manufacturing or non-manufacturing sectors by 2030,” Gunawan added.

The Digital Talent Scholarship is among Kominfo’s programs for nurturing digital talent, boosting digital competitiveness, and meeting the requirement of workers in the information technology and communication sectors.

The ministry has also prepared a job market — Kominfo’s Certification Alumni Monitoring System (SIMONAS) — in a bid to connect Digital Talent Scholarship graduates with the industrial world.

Source: ANTARA News