The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) has established a special Red Onion Horticulture Protection Village in Solok, West Sumatra. It is expected that this village can produce superior red onion products, contributing to the national scale of exports. Acting Minister of Agriculture, emphasised the significance of the agricultural sector in driving the national economy. Furthermore, Indonesia has several flagship programs that can be harnessed to support exports. In the discussions, we also talked about other products that can be cultivated in Indonesia with good productivity. Through these initiatives, he is optimistic that export activities can have a positive impact on reducing imports and strengthening domestic production. Meanwhile, the Director General of Horticulture at the Ministry of Agriculture, emphasised that the focus of the horticulture village project is to enhance the economic value of the community by selling its harvest, both in the domestic and export markets. This represents our breakthrough in adapting and mitigating the impact of climate change. Several concrete steps have been taken, including providing facilities for pest and disease control.
Previously, it was revealed that the Ministry of Agriculture continues its efforts to meet red onion production through the provision of superior seeds, agricultural machinery, and access to the People's Business Credit (KUR) for agriculture. Ministry of Agriculture has allocated environmentally-friendly pest control assistance, including biological pesticides, sex pheromones, and yellow sticky traps for a 45-hectare area in Solok. The Ministry's assistance is expected to help protect crops from pest and disease infestations that can damage agricultural yields while ensuring water availability during each planting season. In another context, regarding red onions, the Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, highlighted the importance of downstream processing, which includes creating derivative products like fried onions, crispy onions, red onion flour, and paste. This approach is one of the main solutions to improve the welfare of farmers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Brebes. With downstream processing, farmers can gain added value and price guarantees for their products during peak harvest seasons. To improve the welfare of red onion farmers here, farmers need to consolidate into cooperatives. This is necessary as a middle path for productivity. By uniting in cooperatives, red onion farmers will find it easier to access financing and gain access to markets. The cooperatives will serve as offtakers, allowing farmers to directly sell their harvest to the cooperatives.
