The Ministry of Communications and Informatics in Indonesia
(KOMINFO) has set
a target of getting 1 million fishermen and farmers to go online by 2019 to improve
their market access and raise their income levels.
By leveraging technology, the farmers and fishermen would be
able to access relevant information, such as weather forecasts in the region, even
from remote areas of the country, helping them increase productivity or improve
safety. They can also share their knowledge and experience through the
Internet.
By tracking movements in commodity prices and marketing and
selling their products online, they can raise their earnings. Boosting digital
payments and moving to a cashless economy is another aspect of the adoption of
digital technologies, which is expected to result in improved financial
inclusion and economic equality.
Jakarta
Post reported that KOMINFO is working with the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Ministry and start-ups to achieve the target. The Ministry has been
collaborating with agriculture-focused e-commerce platforms such as TaniHub and Eragano
to get farmers online.
As part of the National Strategy of Inclusion Finance
(SNKI), launched in
November 2016, the Ministry of Communications and Informatics is encouraging
all sectors of the economy, including agriculture and fisheries to grow and
develop through the adoption of ICT.
KOMINFO has also been working
to bring Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) into the digital economy stimulate
business growth and boost employment. In August 2017, the President of
Indonesia signed the
country’s e-commerce
roadmap which will be a guide for the central and regional governments to
establish policy and create action plans for the acceleration of
e-commerce. It assigns responsibilities and sets key targets to be
achieved by government institutions over the next two years.
The roadmap has eight major components: There are eight
major components to the roadmap: funding, taxation, consumer protection,
education and human resources, communication infrastructure, logistics, cyber
security and the implementing organisation.
KOMINFO also aims to complete the construction of a
nationwide fibre optic network by 2019 to provide reliable Internet connection
in remote areas.
Read the press release (in Indonesian Bahasa) here.
