Day: July 13, 2022

The Indonesian Government underlined the need for initiatives to bolster food resilience in small islands at the Second G20 Sherpa Meeting in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara.

There is a need for such initiatives in small islands in the Pacific region, one of them is Fiji, Secretary General of the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture Kasdi Subagyono noted here on Wednesday.

The G20 Sherpa Meeting is a forum attended by G20 member countries to discuss issues related to energy, development, tourism, digital economy, education, labor, agriculture, trade, investment, industry, health, anti-corruption, environment, and climate change.

G20 is an international forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union that work together to handle major issues. Indonesia is holding the presidency of the grouping this year.

So far, the effort to bolster food resilience has been focused on strengthening human resources, training, and creating pilot projects in Pacific countries for technology innovation transformation.

On its own, Indonesia has made quite a large contribution to bolstering food resilience, he remarked.

The country’s exports of agricultural machinery and infrastructure to places such as Fiji in the past few years demonstrate this contribution, he highlighted.

In addition, the country has invited farmers from overseas to undergo rice-related training at the Rice Research Major Center in Subang, West Java.

These efforts were enthusiastically welcomed by the G20 Sherpa participants, especially the concrete ideas for bolstering food resilience in small islands, Subagyono said.

The Indonesian government realizes that small islands, such as the ones in Indonesia, are very vulnerable when it comes to food resilience.

If food resilience is not bolstered, then people would face difficulty in meeting their food needs because they will have to wait for supplies from other islands, he explained.

The second G20 Sherpa meeting in Labuan Bajo was held from July 10–13, 2022, and was directly attended by 19 member country delegations, and representatives of nine invited countries and 10 international organizations.

One G20 member country, the United States, attended the meeting virtually.

Source: Antara News

The government is aiming to ensure that 2.5 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) obtain business identification numbers (NIBs) to legalize their businesses this year, according to Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Teten Masduki.

“Our target for this year’s NIB is 2.5 million. Today, the number (of NIBs issued) has reached 1.5 million. With a comprehensive approach and assistance to MSMEs and the ease of OSS (Online Single Submission), I think it can be achieved,” he affirmed after attending an event held to issue NIBs to micro and small enterprises here on Wednesday.

Masduki said that his ministry is continuing to encourage MSMEs to apply for NIBs through the OSS Indonesia application.

The NIB proposals will be linked with the proposals for halal certificates that are commonly needed by culinary businesses, he said.

Based on data from the Ministry of Investment, as of July 12, 2022, as many as 1,507,235 NIBs have been issued through the OSS system. Of the total NIBs, 98 percent were issued to micro and small enterprises and 2 percent to medium and large enterprises.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has set the target of issuing as many as 100 thousand NIBs to MSMEs per day. Currently, only 7 thousand NIBs are being issued per day.

The President has also emphasized that support from local governments is needed to achieve the target so that MSMEs can develop their businesses further.

He highlighted that the number of MSMEs in Indonesia touched 65.4 million in 2021, with their contribution to the GDP (gross domestic product) reaching 61 percent.

“Therefore, if the government does not take care of MSMEs, it is wrong; it is a big mistake. Because the contribution to the national economy is 61 percent, and 97 percent of employment is in MSMEs, not in big (companies); this needs to be noted,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News