Developing Home Industry Through Women Empowerment

Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) in collaboration with the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection and the Center for Systems held a National Workshop on Home Industry Development through Regional Women Empowerment in Hotel Borobudur, Jakarta (14/11). The event was attended by approximately 250 participants.

"For those of you who are from the region, welcome to Jakarta, hopefully this meeting could provide insight and we expect input from all of you in relation to the policies we have formulated together, i.e. concerning home industry," said State Minister of Women Empowerment and Child Protection, Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar. She said, "This meeting is to introduce the final draft of foundation for the policies of home industry development to improve the welfare of families through women empowerment as well as to get feedback from the participants". Home industry is greatly potential to support economic security as a production system that increases the added value of local resources in the micro-scale businesses scattered throughout the archipelago.

 In his presentation, Prof. Eriyatno revealed that based on the results of a study by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies (PSP3) IPB in 2011-2012, home industries can be classified into three types (beginner, developing, and developed) based on the level of business sustainability, capital, production technology, the number of workers and product sales system. This study suggests the main factor in the success of a home industry development program is an improved quality of mother and children life, and the next benchmark is employment expansion and poverty reduction. (Mtd)