IPB Prepares 5 Hectares to Help the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs Succeed the Santripreneur and Young Farmers

Collaborating with Islamic boarding schools and religious-based organizations is an important factor in an efforts to reduce inequality. The reason is that religious-based institutions have deep roots in society, especially in rural areas. Based on the data, there are around 28 thousand Islamic boarding schools throughout Indonesia with more than 4 million students.

“For this reason, the government through the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs has developed a Community Economic Partnership Program. This program is the implementation and follow-up of the Economic Supervision Policy and the Community Economic Congress by the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI),” said the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Darmin Nasution while giving remarks in the Santripreneur and Young Farmers Inauguration Program, Wednesday (26/12) in Islamic Community Empowerment Islamic Boarding School, Cibuntu Village, Ciampea District, Bogor Regency.

To succeed the program, Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) through the Deputy Rector for Resources, Planning and Finance, Prof. Dr. Agus Purwito said that IPB had facilitated this collaboration with the provision of five hectares of non-productive land located in Cibuntu village, Bogor Regency

The Community Economic Partnership Program facilitates various partnerships between people – namely community groups based on Islamic boarding schools, communities around Islamic boarding schools, and special MSME communities – with large business groups. The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs has encouraged and facilitated 16 large business groups to partner with Islamic boarding schools and religious based community groups.

Until now, the government has also collaborated with several large Islamic organizations (Nahdlatul Ulama / NU, Muhammadiyah, Islamic Unity (PERSIS), Islamic Community Unity (PUI), and Al-Ittihadiyah. In the future collaboration with other CSOs will be carried out.

The Santripreneur and Young Farmers Program which was inaugurated today is also part of the Community Economic Partnership Program. This program is designed to produce new agricultural entrepreneurs in the context of regenerating farmers and developing the potential of non-productive land, including in Islamic boarding schools.

This program targets final year students, alumni of Islamic boarding schools and communities around boarding schools, young people who are currently or just graduating from school or college, and those who are interested in agricultural business.

The coverage is training activities and development of post-training agricultural enterprises. Business training and development is focused on developing high economic value of agricultural commodities, especially horticulture, which is integrated with livestock and fisheries businesses. Thus, the Community Economic Partnership program prioritizes the development of 3 pillars namely Vocational, Entrepreneurship and Partnership. All three are intended for young people who have the ability as technopreneur and sociopreneur

In addition, the Industrial Revolution 4.0 road map has approved 5 priority sectors, one of which is the food and beverage industry. A highly productive agricultural sector with predictable results based on technology that is needed to support the food and beverage industry value chain which is projected to be a major force in ASEAN.

Collaboration with related parties is very necessary in the implementation of this program. One of them has been agreed on, namely with the banks that are members of the State Owned Bank Association (Himbara) in the distribution of Micro Business Credit (KUR) Micro to finance post-training activities.

Coordinating Minister Darmin hoped that the implementation of the pilot program initiated by the Directorate of Student Affairs and Career Development of IPB, Medco Foundation, and Yayasan Jam’iyyatul Hidayah in Cibuntu Village, Bogor Regency could run successfully as best practices.

Meanwhile, IPB itself will provide facilitation in aspects of land provision, access to finance, technology, markets, and assistance. For this reason, collaboration between IPB and various related parties is needed to run this program.

Deputy Rector for Resources, Planning and Finance, Prof. Dr. Agus Purwito said, IPB realized that the Indonesian people faced various opportunities in the future such as bonus demographics, the size of the workforce and the 4.0 industrial revolution.

“The Santripreneur and Young Farmers training program consists of several activities, namely training, business development and post-training assistance. The training is conducted intensively centrally for seven to 14 days per batch. The number of trainees for each batch is 20 people. The training was conducted in one month so that for one year there was 12 training sessions. For the target number of participants 240 students and students. Thankfully, a batch of training was held which was attended by 20 final-level IPB students from 18-30 July 2018,” he said.

He added, the training was focused on cultivating high economic value agricultural commodities that were integrated with livestock and fisheries businesses with a circular economy approach. The choice of commodities is based on market demand, price stability, business feasibility, ease of cultivation techniques and bio-physical suitability. The commodities developed include kale cultivation, spinach, edamame soybeans, katuk, Japanese papaya, cassava shoots, hybrid corn, eggplant, lime, aloe vera, celery, noni leaves, bay leaves and stevia.

Furthermore, a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was held between IPB and BRI. Where from IPB is Deputy Chancellor for Education and Student Affairs Dr. Ir. Drajat Martianto while BRI was represented by the Head of the Small Business and Partnership Division, Soni Harsono.

The Regional Secretary of West Java Province, Dr. Iwa Karniwa, founder of Medco Foundation Arifin Panigoro, Director of Student Affairs and Career Development, Dr. Alim Setiawan Slamet, deputy dean, lecturers, researchers and IPB students as well as students of the Islamic Community Empowerment Islamic boarding school was present at the Santripreneur and Young Farmers Launching. (FM)