Kemendes Collaborates with Ekosis to Promote Farmers and Fishermen’s Welfare

The Directorate General of Economic Development and Investment in Disadvantaged Areas and Transmigration from the Ministry of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration (Kemendes PDTT) is collaborating with the startup Ekosis to encourage the welfare of agribusiness actors in Indonesia.

This local agribusiness startup claims that it has discussed a work plan between the Directorate General of Economic Development and Village Investment, Disadvantaged Areas and Transmigration accompanied by the Secretary of the Directorate General and the directors.

“Collaboration will be carried out in various aspects, starting from market access, product standardization, to logistics,” said Ecosis Business Development Specialist Felicia Yulie Mills. Through his official statement, Friday (26/2/2021), he hopes that this collaboration can make market access wide open.

“With Ecosis, farmers, fishermen, breeders, and breeders in villages and disadvantaged areas have the opportunity to market their crops throughout Indonesia,” said Felicia.

Preparation to Meet Standards

Meanwhile, the products from the village will be carefully prepared to meet the standardization of market demand. Likewise with the readiness of logistics facilities to support the entire process from upstream to downstream with proper capabilities.

“Until now, online socialization has been carried out in stages, starting with farmers, fishermen, breeders and MSMEs in a number of regions in Indonesia. From western regions (such as Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra) to eastern Indonesia (such as Maluku, NTT),” he said. Felicia emphasized.

Unresolved Agribusiness Problems

The pandemic hasn’t ended, yet various problems in the agribusiness sector have not been resolved. Farmers are increasingly worried because the selling price is decreasing in the beginning of this year. Return on investment is difficult. Ekosis is here to provide solutions for farmers.

For example, the tomato commodity in the Pagaralam region, South Sumatra, whose price has dropped to IDR 600/kg from the normal price of IDR 9 thousand/kg at the farmer level. Likewise, the price of shallots at the level of farmers in Brebes, which was initially priced at IDR 20 thousand/kg, decreased to IDR 9 thousand/kg. In Lampung, the price is falling sharply at IDR 750/kg.

Business Development Specialist for Ekosis, Felicia Yulie Mills, stated that the various limitations faced by farmers have triggered a series of problems currently occurring. Those are the limitations in marketing the products, the long distribution chain that shackles them, and the difficulty of access logistics.

According to her, this big “homework” underlies Ekosis in realizing the welfare of farmers with the help of technology. They can advertise their products on Ekosis’ website and mobile app in order to reach buyers throughout the country.

She said, agribusiness actors in various fields, ranging from agriculture, plantations, fisheries, forestry, to livestock, can now find business partners and market their commodities easily, even before the harvest period.

“People don’t need to be afraid of fraud, because our company guarantees the security of transactions with a joint account system. That way, money is guaranteed until the product arrives,” explained Felicia, Wednesday (23/12/2020).

Cutting a Long Distribution Chain

She hopes by cutting the long distribution chain, producers can sell products at a reasonable price, directly to end-users. On the other hand, consumers ranging from companies, agricultural industries, hotels, restaurants and cafes, can get products at lower prices, so that it benefits all parties.

If farmers have problems with logistics or delivery, they can also immediately consult and order logistical transportation available at Ekosis. Currently, available shipments have reached almost 100% of shipping areas throughout Indonesia, from Sabang to Merauke, with land, sea, air, city courier, train, and trucking services.

If there are commodities that need to be shipped cold or frozen, logistic services with cold storage are available in Ekosis. Sellers can access directly through the Ekosis website or mobile app.