PT KBI Encourages the Welfare of Soybean Farmers Through a Revolving Assistance Program

05 Oct 2023

PT Kliring Berjangka Indonesia (PT KBI) has started a new step in holding a Social and Environmental Responsibility (TJSL) program involving the Faculty of Agricultural Technology and Biosystems, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and the Indonesian Local Soybean Community Association (Asmakara). This step aims to build a more sustainable agricultural ecosystem in the Klaten Regency area, Yogyakarta, with a focus on farmers who work on soybean crops. This action is concrete evidence of PT KBI's commitment to contributing to local agricultural development.

The TJSL program, called Funding Assistance for Soybean Cultivating Farmers, is PT KBI's effort to answer challenges and overcome upstream to downstream problems for cultivating farmers who currently do not have their own rice fields. By building an ecosystem with the Triple Helix system, namely a partnership system that includes the roles of industry offtakers, academics and the Klaten Regency Regional Government. Cultivating farmers can use land owned by the local government and then the harvest can go into warehouse receipts and will be sold to standby buyers who are already involved in this ecosystem. The continuity of work that is built can be a solution to improve the economy and welfare of sharecroppers.

This Fund Distribution Program was given to 55 soybean farmers with a land allocation of 10 Ha in the Klaten Regency and Bantul Regency areas. The program consists of partnerships and data collection on Soybean Farmer Groups, Assistance and Training on Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Soybean Cultivation, and Post-Harvest Handling of Local Soybean Farmers. The hope is that this program can increase soybean cultivation efforts and soybean food independence as well as increase knowledge and harvest yields for sharecroppers and farmer groups.

Budi Susanto, Acting President Director of PT KBI, emphasized, "We are determined to create an ecosystem where sharecroppers who do not have their own land can enjoy the fruits of their labor after the harvest. We all know that soybeans are a very important commodity for the Indonesian people and even the world. As one of the staple food commodities, demand for soybeans continues to increase along with population growth which continues to increase every year. However, in this reality, increasing soybean production by farmers must be accompanied by adequate partnership support."

"With this assistance program, smallholder farmers don't need to worry about capital for planting, marketing their products, even the initial capital we provide can be used for the next planting season. We hope that this initiative will make a positive contribution in increasing the independence and welfare of farmers, especially sharecroppers," said Budi.

The soybean harvest from cultivating farmers will be officially recorded in PT KBI's Warehouse Receipt System (SRG). This step aims to provide convenience for sharecroppers when they plan to carry out buying and selling transactions. With buyers who are ready, cultivating farmers can experience in real terms the results of the hard work they have put in so far.