Day: June 11, 2022

The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and the University of North Sumatra are exploring cooperation in research on entrepreneurship and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The cooperation is aimed at increasing the potential and competitiveness of MSMEs, especially in North Sumatra.

“Research on entrepreneurship and the commercialization of products of micro, small, and medium enterprises as well as small and medium industries are exciting. MSMEs are one of the pillars in Indonesia in terms of number and (job) absorption,” head of BRIN’s Macroeconomic and Financial Research Center, Zamroni, said in a statement accessed by ANTARA on the agency’s official website here on Saturday.

Developing the digital ecosystem for MSMEs is crucial because it can strengthen the competitiveness of MSMEs and small and medium industries, he noted.

Meanwhile, a researcher at the Research Organization for Governance, Economics, and Community Welfare (OR TKPEKM), Bahtiar Rifai, noted that most MSMEs are still focusing on manual activities, while digital literacy and infrastructure are lacking.

For this reason, BRIN’s research center is focusing on improving MSME business processes with the help of digital solutions, technology utilization, efficiency, employment, product expansion, and increased productivity.

In the future, it is hoped that the scope of cooperation between BRIN and USU could be expanded to education, research, and community service. The BRIN is open to various types of collaboration, such as research collaboration and the ‘degree by research’ program.

BRIN and USU could conduct research collaboration directly by formulating a memorandum of understanding given the large potential for such collaboration, Rifai added.

Meanwhile, USU Deputy Rector III, Poppy Hasibuan, said that her university wants to carry out research collaboration so that MSME players can master digital platforms and market research.

“(Hopefully,) MSMEs in North Sumatra can be clustered,” she added.

It is hoped that USU can supervise MSME activities with the help of BRIN, Hasibuan said.

Source: Antara News

State-owned fertilizer company PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero) produced 3.92 million tons of fertilizers in the year up to April 2022 to maintain national fertilizer production and meet subsidized fertilizer requirements.

Fertilizer production comprised 2,485,566 tons of urea, 93,650 tons of SP-36, 246,675 tons of ZA, 1,089,254 tons of NPK, and 3,771 tons of ZK, PT Pupuk Indonesia Production Director Bob Indiarto noted in a written statement released in Jakarta on Saturday.

PT Pupuk Indonesia, formerly PT Pupuk Sriwidjaja (Pusri), is a strategic and investment holding company of seven subsidiaries.

Last year, Pupuk Indonesia had produced 19.52 million tons of fertilizers and non-fertilizer goods, accounting for 100.7 percent of the target set in its business plan and corporate budget (RKAP).

Indiarto noted that smooth fertilizer production also hinged on the availability of raw materials, particularly phosphate (DAP) and rock phosphate as well as potassium (KCl). In general, the company managed to maintain the supply of raw materials until the end of 2022.

The supply of raw materials for the production of NPK fertilizers was disrupted due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Russia is one of the biggest exporters of fertilizer raw materials in the world.

“We need to ensure phosphate and potassium stocks since the two types of raw materials cannot be produced domestically,” he pointed out.

Hence, Pupuk Indonesia has ensured additional raw material supplies from other nations, such as Canada and Middle Eastern countries.

“The supplies of NPK raw materials have already reached a secure threshold to ensure smooth production until the end of this year,” he stated.

As of June 2022, subsidized fertilizer stocks stood at 737,970 tons comprising 371,823 tons of urea, 257,348 tons of NPK, 26,048 tons of SP-36, 32,955 tons of ZA, and 45,760 tons of organic fertilizer.

Source: Antara News

Development of a State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) vaccine, currently in the final stage of testing, reflects Indonesia’s ability to produce the COVID-19 vaccine, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) researcher, Muhammad Habib Abiyan Dzakwan, stated.

“It is about time for Indonesia to stand with developed countries in an effort to independently produce the COVID-19 vaccine,” Dzakwan noted in a written statement received here, Saturday.

The researcher later remarked that the development of SOEs vaccine was important to build self-reliance in providing vaccines in handling COVID-19.

“We have seen some countries experience a spike in COVID-19 cases despite high vaccination coverage,” he stated.

With a large population, Indonesia should be able to provide vaccines independently to boost the people’s immunity against COVID-19. The ability to independently produce the COVID-19 vaccine could reduce the burden of health costs from imported vaccines, he remarked.

Dzakwan suggested that the development of SOEs vaccine must be conducted in accordance with internationally applicable scientific principles in coordination with relevant experts and institutions, such as the Ministry of Health, the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The researcher also conveyed the importance of providing research centers and vaccine production infrastructure at the regional level to achieve independence in vaccine production.

“Collaboration with the private sector must be taken into consideration to produce domestic vaccine. A commitment to ensure the funding is also important,” Dzakwan stated.

He reminded that the main challenge in developing SOEs vaccines is the supply of vaccine raw materials and the vaccine distribution.

“We know that Indonesia is a large country and comprises many islands. The challenge is to distribute the SOEs vaccine on time to reach the sub-district level,” he added.

Dzakwan emphasized that SOEs should also cooperate with religious institutions and civil society institutions in disseminating information on the benefits of SOE vaccines. The success of developing SOEs vaccines could boost national health security and support Indonesia’s diplomatic efforts.

“Indonesia will no longer become a market for foreign vaccines but is also capable of producing vaccine on its own. This means that vaccine can possibly become a new export commodity for Indonesia,” he concluded.

Source: Antara News

The Indonesian National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) inked a memorandum of understanding with the Belgian Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (CUTA) in Brussels, Belgium, to strengthen efforts to prevent terrorism.

“Coordination and collaboration between countries, especially Indonesia and Belgium, is necessary to handle the dynamic threats of terrorism,” BNPT’s Head Boy Rafli Amar noted in a written statement on Friday.

According to Amar, the threat of terrorism currently emerges in various forms, and it is complicated in terms of the varying difficulties and challenges.

The entire gamut of terrorism handling includes combating foreign terrorist fighters as well as encompasses facilities for guidance, rehabilitation, and reintegration.

“The current global and regional challenges as well as the landscape of terrorism continue to change, demanding countries in the world to have better coordination and collaboration,” he emphasized.

Indonesia’s BNPT and Belgium’s CUTA cooperate in terrorism mitigation through information exchange, strategy analysis, as well as best practices followed by both nations.

This encompasses meetings between experts and high-ranking officials included within the future agenda.

The inking of the memorandum of understanding is an important development since no country can singlehandedly conduct terrorism mitigation, Amar stressed.

Indonesia and Belgium simultaneously face the threats of terrorism that affect their security, prosperity, and development.

In particular, Belgium is handling the rise of right-wing extremism. Meanwhile, Indonesia is dealing with extremism that spreads religious dogma, with the goal of changing the nation’s ideology.

Belgian Minister of the Interior, Institutional Reform and Democratic Renewal Annelies Verlinden noted that Belgium and Indonesia encounter acts of terrorism on several occasions. As a result, optimal cooperation is crucial to handle this issue.

CUTA has several internationally renowned experts in the field of threat analysis. This will certainly support the implementation of cooperation between the two countries, she stated.

Terrorism and extremism are transnational ideologies that transcend borders between countries. Belgium, which is situated in Europe and is a part of the European Union, fully supports the cooperation to prevent this threat.

Source: Antara News