PT Jamkrindo Continues Community Empowerment Program in Ciletuh Palabuhanratu Unesco Global Geopark to Strengthen the People’s Businesses Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
PT Jamkrindo continues its community empowerment program in the Ciletuh Palabuhanratu Unesco Global Geopark to strengthen small businesses that continue to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. After assisting and empowering the community through hydroponic vegetable farming initiatives, homestay optimization, and mango chip production, Jamkrindo is now encouraging economic activities through goat and sheep farming.
PT Jamkrindo’s Corporate Secretary, Abdul Bari, stated that the company’s community empowerment program is a contribution toward achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). "PT Jamkrindo started collaborating with the Sukabumi Regency Government in West Java and the Ciletuh Geopark Management Agency in 2019 with an initial campaign on anti-plastic waste. After that, we shifted towards economic programs by empowering local communities," Abdul Bari said in a press release on Tuesday (April 6, 2021).
The community empowerment program through goat and sheep farming is carried out through various activities. On Tuesday, livestock farmers in the Waluran, Ciemas, and Gegerbitung districts of Sukabumi Regency received basic training in goat and sheep farming in Ciwaru Village, Ciemas District. Additionally, Jamkrindo also provided assistance to two groups of goat farmers in the form of communal pens and goat/sheep seedlings.
The basic farming training materials were delivered by Mustofa, an officer from the Sukabumi Animal Husbandry Office, and Pilar, a veterinarian. Both officers provided training on basic sheep farming techniques and tips for breeding sheep, both for fattening and breeding purposes. The training participants, who followed health protocols, were also invited for hands-on practice at the pens to identify common diseases in goats or sheep, as well as to learn effective feed selection and feeding techniques.
According to Mustofa, training programs like the one organized by Jamkrindo help build the farmers' confidence in their farming activities. Moreover, the sheep and goat market remains open, considering that the population of sheep and goats has been declining in recent years, while demand continues to rise. "In Region VI Jampang Kulon, the population of sheep and goats is around 150,000, down from 250,000 a decade ago. With training like this, we hope that more farmers will scale up their businesses, which will help the population recover," Mustofa said.
Cahya Sukendar, a member of the Pakidulan Sukabumi Independent Farmers Group, shared that sheep farming has been a traditional activity passed down through generations in rural areas. However, many practices that farmers used in the past turned out to be less productive. "From this training, we gained new experiences, such as the fact that feeding has specific techniques that can increase productivity. Training like this is very useful for beginner farmers like us," Cahya said.
In addition to ongoing empowerment programs, PT Jamkrindo, which operates in the credit guarantee business, will continue several activities in the Ciletuh Palabuhanratu Unesco Global Geopark, including the revitalization and optimization of the Ciwaru Fish Market and the implementation of a waste bank.
As a credit guarantee company, PT Jamkrindo offers various products, including both program and non-program guarantee products. For program guarantees, PT Jamkrindo provides KUR (People's Business Credit), KMK (Working Capital Credit) guarantees under the PEN (National Economic Recovery) program, warehouse receipt system guarantees, and the Housing Financing Liquidity Facility (FLPP) guarantees.
PT Jamkrindo, along with its subsidiary PT Penjaminan Jamkrindo Syariah (Jamsyar), has provided guarantees for 798,192 Working Capital Credit (KMK) debtors to support the government’s National Economic Recovery (PEN) program. The company has realized a PEN guarantee amount of IDR 12.859 trillion, with IDR 9.071 trillion provided by Jamkrindo and IDR 3.788 trillion by Jamsyar until the end of March 2021.
For non-program guarantees, the products include general credit guarantees, microcredit guarantees, construction and goods/services procurement guarantees, multipurpose credit guarantees, goods distribution guarantees, surety bonds, customs bonds, cargo agency guarantees, supply chain financing (invoice financing) guarantees, and guarantees for fintech institutions.