Go Digital, Indonesian Agricultural Small Businesses Urged

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesia’s Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs is encouraging SMEs in the agriculture sector to go digital to weather the coronavirus pandemic.

“By turning to digitalization, Indonesian SMEs in the agriculture sector can expand their market reach. Where previously they conducted offline transactions, now they are able to switch to digital platforms,” said Dewi Syarlen, Deputy Assistant of Agriculture and Plantations at the ministry.

Read also: Indonesia’s Ministry of Agriculture Gets Innovative to Achieve Food Security

“In the digital era, they can utilize big data which farmers can use to make decisions on their transactions,” said Dewi.

Big data can assist farmers to determine what opportunities are available, Dewi added. It also enables farmers to assess what trends are happening in the Indonesian market.

These are meant to generate interest among Indonesian SMEs in the agriculture sector to consider online sales platforms.

Read also: Erick Thohir: Coronavirus Pandemic Pushing Indonesia to Go Digital

“They know the current trends so they automatically know what the market needs. This can boost the interest of farmers to turn to online sales,” said Dewi.

Online opportunities

Ekosis.id’s Chief Marketing Officer Ranggi Muharam said there are currently 4,501,415 farmers and fishermen in Indonesia who have access to the online world.

However, there are 28,986,391 Indonesian farmers and fishermen who remain without access to the digital sphere.

This comes amid ongoing government projects to establish internet access for citizens in the western and eastern parts of Indonesia.

Read also: Indonesia Switches On Campaign to Get Everyone Online

“This should be an opportunity for us to use the internet especially nowadays with so many platforms that can assist farmers and fishermen to go digital,” said Ranggi.

Such platforms that Indonesian farmers and fishermen can use are ekosis.id which offers various advantages and benefits for the agribusiness industry.