Project Helps Indonesian Women Succeed in Business

BOGOR, INDONESIA th An international agriculture project has been instrumental in improving the income and quality of life for many Indonesian women involved in agriculture-based business enterprises, said project participants and beneficiaries.

An international agriculture project has been instrumental in improving the income and quality of life for many Indonesian women involved in agriculture-based business enterprises, said project participants and beneficiaries.

The Southeast Asian Food and Agriculture Science and Technology project, also known as SEAFAST, has been assisting Indonesians with small- and medium-size food-based business enterprises since 2005, said Steven Gregory of Texas A&M’s Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture.

“Through our part of this project, we are helping smaller food-based businesses throughout Indonesia improve food safety, increase their income and enhance their business process and productivity,” said Gregory, who is chief of party for the project. “The majority of those we serve through our program are women, including members of women’s business cooperatives.”

The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and implemented through the Institut Pertanian Bogor and the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture of the Texas A&M System.

While the project’s SEAFAST Center focuses mainly on food science research and technology, working with larger agriculture-based businesses and organizations, Gregory and his staff work at a grass-roots level with smaller operations.

“We primarily help small and medium-size business enterprises throughout Indonesia by providing free on-site education and training that applies to their business, along with offering low-interest micro-credit loans,” Gregory said.

Of the more than 100 enterprises currently receiving loans through the project, more than 80 percent of the recipients have been women, said Khres Senduk, who manages the project’s MicroCredit Plus program.

“Women are very responsible borrowers and almost always pay their loans back on time or even ahead of time,” Senduk said. “They don’t like to have any debt.”

The loans are typically used to purchase new or better equipment, he said.

The program also provides training and educational outreach on topics such as food safety and processing, product development, packaging and marketing. Of the more than 700 people receiving training to date, more than 70 percent have been women, according to SEAFAST data.

“Women are very interested in the training and in getting groups together to learn more about food safety and processing,” said Arief Tasrig Nur Gomo, a project trainer and food scientist. “They’re good students and are eager to find ways to improve their businesses.”

“The benefits after the training are obvious,” said Dr. Moon Cahyani of the Deputy Ministry of the Women’s Empowering and Children’s Welfare office. “In the new SMEs, the impact can be seen in the change of attitude, mindset and point of view regarding how to process food and beverages.”

Moon said SEAFAST has been very helpful to women-owned small and medium-size enterprises in Indonesia. “Some of these women are widows and the only source of income for their families,” she said. “Others are trying to provide additional income so their family can have a better life.”

Sudarti Subagiya, who runs her own food-based business in Yogyakarta and serves as head of the Amanah Women’s Cooperative, is one of the project beneficiaries. Sudarti and her 14 employees produce homemade snack foods, including traditional crackers, banana chips and other foods made from local edible plants.

In December 2006, Sudarti and the cooperative received a one-year micro-credit loan from SEAFAST, using the money to buy new cooking tools and new food processing and packaging equipment. The program provided Sudarti and members of her cooperative with free training.

“The packaging of our products became better, and we were able to increase the shelf life of our products by three times,” she said. “The loan helped us equip our plant and make our work easier.”

Sudarti noted that she, her staff and other members of her cooperative also learned much about food safety, hygiene and food-processing efficiency thanks to the technical assistance and training they received.

In large part due to project efforts, the Amanah Womens’s Cooperative was able to grow from 14 members to more than 40 in less than two years, Gregory added.

“We’re proud that the SEAFAST program has been able to assist Ibu ( Mrs. ) Sudarti and many other women like her in Indonesia,” he said. “Women are motivated and responsible entrepreneurs, and we hope to help more of them as we continue this worthwhile project.”

Source:http://media-newswire.com/release_1068384.html