Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises Cooperatives (Menkop UKM) Teten Masduki inaugurated the inaugural export of mas bananas to Singapore and handed over cattle assistance to farmers fostered by PT Great Giant Pineapple (GGP) in Tanggamus, Lampung virtually on Thursday, September 30, 2021.
The agenda was carried out in order to improve the welfare of farmers and ranchers, as well as economic recovery due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The release of 144 boxes of mas bananas to Singapore was carried out in a hybrid manner and assembled together with the delivery of assistance to 10 cows to partnership farmers who are members of the Green Makmur Farmer Producer Cooperative, Margodadi Village, Sumber Rejo District, Tanggamus.
The ceremonial release of the first export of Mas bananas was carried out by the Regent of Tanggamus Dewi Handayani, Deputy for Cooperatives Ahmad Zabadi, and the Governor of Lampung, represented by the Acting Assistant for the Economy and Development Kusnardi. The ceremony was also witnessed by the Deputy for Food and Agribusiness Coordination of the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy Musdhalifah Machmud, Chair of the Green Farmers Producers Cooperative Makmur Sigit Wicaksono and the fostered farmers who were also attended by the Regent of Kepahiang Hidayatullah Sjahid, and the Regent of Simalungun Radiapoh Hasiholan Sinaga.
Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki in a virtual speech said he highly appreciated the Green Makmur Farmer Cooperative which had made its first export of gold bananas to Singapore. He said that through a strategic partnership between the cooperative and PT GGP, it will provide certainty of the availability of banana seeds, good governance, packaging standards, trading of banana quality, and market certainty.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Harvick Hasnul Qolbi said that in order to support government programs, the Ministry of Economy continues to carry out stimulation and activities. This is proven by the release of exports by the Green Makmur Farmer Cooperative in Tanggamus which is able to create farmers with corporate tie.
Corporate Affairs Director of PT GGP Welly Soegiono explained that the development of mas banana cultivation has reached 450 hectares and the farmers who have joined the partnership have reached 850 farmers. Welly said that initially the farmers were given assistance and the assistance continued to roll so that it could become big. This is inseparable from the collaboration of cooperatives, local governments, and provincial governments.
On this occasion, the Deputy for Food and Agribusiness Coordination of the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy said that bananas were the second largest foreign exchange contributor for Indonesia with a value of 14.6 million US dollars (BPS: 2018) or around Rp. 204 billion. Even during the pandemic, it still persists and the good productivity of agricultural products in Lampung cannot be separated from the tenacity of the people who work on social forestry land optimally.
