Wilfridus Ngala, mayor of Inegena, a village nestled in the central hills of Ngada district, on the island of Flores, has a vision – to transform its community of 1,100 people, mostly subsistence farmers, into an agricultural powerhouse with an industry. food processing industry and its own exports.
Mayor Ngala’s idea sounds far-fetched but, a year after Inegena was selected as a recipient of support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFADan agency of the United Nations) and Indonesia’s Ministry of Villages, Development of Difficult Areas and Migration, there are clear signs of progress in his community, with crops and vegetables grown in areas formerly barren land, and the sound of cocks crowing along the formerly quiet village streets.
Viktorinus Roja, who learned how to raise chickens last year and was elected head of the village’s business association, said: “Our village now has a future and many young people have decided to stay and join in on it. new agricultural projects. “A year ago, I was thinking about moving to the city to find a job. But I decided to give Mayor Ngala a chance.”
Building long-term economic success
Inegena is one of 1,110 Indonesian villages supported through IFAD’s Integrated Village Economic Transformation (TEKAD) Program, funded by the United Nations agency and the Indonesian government. In Ngada district, 20 communities are benefiting from TEKAD experts who help villagers design business plans and long-term development strategies, and apply for grants to the valuable National Village Fund. 68 billion Indonesian Rupiah ($4.3 billion), managed by the Ministry of Villages. The funding mainly comes in the form of a loan that the government and villages will have to repay from the proceeds of increased economic activity.
“Many times in rural Indonesia, money is not an issue. Harlina Sulistroyini, General Manager of Economic Development and Investment at the Ministry of Villages, says insightful planning builds the foundation for long-term economic success. “Places like Inegena are proof that small capital and big ideas can be achieved together.”
The key, added Ms. Sulistroyini, is for communities to focus on a single product where they have an economic and market advantage. In the case of Inegena, the main commodity and future cash crop are nuts used as raw materials in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.
With TEKAD’s support, the villagers drew up a business plan to improve harvesting and started processing the candle nuts locally. Until recently, each farmer harvested the seeds, cleaned them manually and shipped them to the local market, but now they band together to get better deals from buyers. Equally important, villagers no longer need to make the hour-long journey to town and spend hours selling their wares – buyers are now in the village.
The next step, Ms. Sulistroyini said, involves purchasing, with the support of the ministry, a machine to replace the manual labor currently needed to peel the seeds and funding a machine to extract the oil. of seeds.
Increase production, find markets
By selling oil instead of seeds, the village will be able to keep more revenue from the candle seed value chain. “We want to support villages with vision and potential,” she added. “Inegena is a small village but one day it will go international – as long as they keep the focus.”
Villagers plan to install oil extraction machines by the end of 2023, allowing them to process candle seeds harvested in neighboring villages. “We are planning to become a local hub,” said Mayor Ngala.
While the village’s economic transformation plan focuses on candle beads, there are other products that locals see potential: they used Rp 152 million ($9,600) from the Village Fund to raise 50% farming area of the village; Fields formerly full of shrubs have been converted into horticultural plantations and most of the peppers, eggplants and cabbages grown are sold at the local market.
Local farmer Bonevasius Redo has been trying to expand his bamboo house with the additional income he earned this past growing season. Thanks to new opportunities at home, he was able to return to Inegana, after many years working on a palm oil plantation in Borneo. He now earns about five million Rupiah a month ($320), compared to just three million ($190) at the plantation. “Now we can live here by growing vegetables and peppers,” he said.
Chicken and food security
The aim of the chicken farming scheme, which convinces Mr. Roja not to move to the city, is primarily to improve food security and nutrition by providing a steady supply of protein to the community – as well as income from the sale of chickens. redundancy. The whole village now has 2,400 chickens, up from a few hundred two years ago.
TEKAD’s goal is to provide economic transformation assistance to villages of interest in the five poorest provinces in Indonesia, including East Nusa Tenggara, where Inegena is located. By hiring and training local coordinators to work with villagers, the program ensures that communities support long-term planning.
“To lay the groundwork for sustainable development, villages need to spend money on projects that provide long-term economic benefits, rather than simply spending Village Fund money each year on special initiative,” said Anissa Pratiwi, Country Program Officer at the IFAD office in Jakarta. “This fundamental change in approach requires learning and capacity building at the village level.”
The change is urgently needed as currently only 10% of the Village Fund is used to support rural economic development. TEKAD helps change that by improving the technical skills and market information available to villages, along with guidance and supervision in the planning and implementation of projects. The villages in which it operates have a combined population of more than 1.6 million – making it one of the UN’s projects with the largest reach in Indonesia.
“We are using TEKAD not only to help the villages participate in development, but also to show other communities in these areas a good example of long-term and sustainable economic development,” said Ms. Sulistroyini. .
