Indonesia aims to transform 5,000 villages into export trade hubs

Indonesia has launched an initiative to turn 5,000 villages into export hubs and boost rural economic development, ANTARA reports.

Indonesian coffee, vanilla, candlenuts and palm sugar have already demonstrated their potential as high-value commodities in global markets. Rural regions can leverage this potential to unlock export opportunities. The pilot project will begin with Arabica coffee production in West Java.

To implement the initiative, the country’s Ministry of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions has signed an agreement with a public organisation that aims to position Indonesia among global leaders by 2045. The organisation will assist in identifying export markets and provide a digital geotagging application enabling international buyers to assess the potential of each village. The ministry also plans to ensure rural areas have access to clean water, electricity, and telecommunications services.

Minister Yandri Susanto noted that the government cannot develop villages alone. According to him, all sectors of society must play an active role so that rural communities become key drivers of national development programmes.

“Empowerment should go side by side with guidance. We seek to foster a perception that villages are epicentres of economic growth,” the minister said.

The Government of Indonesia is already implementing a series of rural development programmes. Facilities are being built for 34,000 rural cooperatives across the country. President Prabowo Subianto has set the task of equipping each cooperative with administrative offices, grocery shops, savings and loan units, clinics, pharmacies, cold storage facilities, and logistics infrastructure. The state is also importing 160,000 pickup trucks, including from India and China, to support cooperatives.

A separate programme provides for the modernisation of 1,000 fishing villages in 2026. These will be equipped with ice production facilities, cold storage, docks and vessels to improve the efficiency of fish distribution chains. All these measures are aimed at strengthening the economic self-sufficiency of villages.