The improvement of villages in Indonesia is believed to be one of the factors influencing the growth of the national economy. It is for this reason that the government has named villages as entities that must be developed for the sake of economic progress.

Development in a village is not only measured by infrastructure but also the factors that support economic activity in a given village. To support development, the Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry has prepared a number of programs to push for economic growth, including through the establishment of village markets.

Minister Marwan Jafar said that these markets were economic entities that would be the movers of the village economies and would influence trade, industry and services. "Village markets can be run by village-owned businesses to market products made by villagers and as a source of income for the village administration," Marwan said.

Marwan added that Village Industrial and Rest Areas (VIRA) would also be established when developing these village markets. This way, these villages will have management offices, storage buildings, food stalls and gallery rooms.

"Aside from being able to sell quality products locally, people who are traveling from one place to another can use the villages as resting areas. This will allow for local product transactions from one area to another," Marwan said.

To ensure that the ministry's budget is being used for strategic programs, 90 percent of the budget has been allocated to fund strategic and concrete programs.

"Among them is the development of village markets. We initially targeted toward 100 markets, then increased that number to 200 market areas this year," Marwan said.

Previously, the villages ministry had refocused its budget to help realize priority programs. One way it has done this is by slashing travel-related funds, operational funds and other programs that are not a priority for 2016. This refocusing has succeeded in allocating 90 percent of the ministry's budget for strategic programs, which include the building of 200 village market areas.

Meanwhile, director general for village area development Johozua Markus said that the village markets would be built in strategic areas of provinces. "The village markets will be built on provincial roads or main roads. They will be 300 square meters. There must also be facilities that allow for product mobilization," Johozua said.

 According to Johozua, these village markets will be built in provinces such as Aceh, Palembang, East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara.

"But before we begin development, we will coordinate with local government administration officials to estimate the preparedness of the land in question," Johozua said.

Mark added that these village markets would allow for low and affordable prices for local farming products. "Selling in villages is considered hard, because the villagers tend to set low prices or conduct sales with a third party. These villages will be a solution for maximizing the village economy," Johozua said.

Source:
courtesy of THE JAKARTA POST

by The Jakarta Post

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