Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The Mandiri Makmur Lampung Business Cluster has been the main source of livelihood for residents for many years. Not only that, happy smiles were clearly visible on the faces of the farmers of the Mandiri Makmur Lampung Business Cluster.
However, not everything went smoothly. The pandemic that occurred in 2020 almost killed the businesses of small farmers in the Sukadana Regency, Purbolinggo District, East Lampung. This challenge then made some residents take the initiative to create a business group.
This is in accordance with what was told by Edi Widianto (41), Secretary of the Mandiri Makmur Cluster. Edi said that at that time small farmers in his area were experiencing difficulties in marketing the eggs they produced due to social restrictions.
“From there, we finally took the initiative to form a business group to ensure that our breeder's eggs could be sold. So we tried to ensure that there were no obstacles to the sale. At that time, we helped with the processing of permits, so that the sales passed all the way to Jakarta,” explained Edi, quoted on Wednesday (17 /01/2024).
He explained that when he first formed the business group, only a few breeders joined, until now it has more than 40 active members. Apart from building cooperation between breeders, the Mandiri Makmur Business Cluster also collaborates with chicken egg collectors so that they can jointly advance their business and improve the welfare of residents.
This business cluster also helps small breeders in the area through various efforts ranging from the production process, reducing production costs to a minimum, managing animal feed to sales distribution.
“In terms of total production, we don't have exact data on how much it is because it consists of collectors and several sub-agents as well. But if collected, it could reach approximately 10 tons of egg production per day as a whole,” continued Edi.
From the estimated total production, Edi explained that the Mandiri Makmur Business Cluster approximately gets a turnover of IDR 2 million every day.
“Thank God, people's welfare will definitely be affected because we are helping breeders to reduce production costs so that egg prices can remain stable,” explained Edi.
Expand Business Thanks to BRI Cluster Assistance
Usaha Mandiri Makmur is one of many other business clusters under the guidance of BRI. Edi said that this assistance was the result of the hard work of the community who were trying to find solutions amidst the pressure of the last pandemic.
“At that time, there were a lot of complaints from small farmers because their eggs weren't being sold. Even if they were sold, the prices were very cheap and didn't match the production costs. Finally, we tried to find a solution. Coincidentally, a friend from BRI gave us the direction. Thank God, we immediately got help,” said Edi.
According to him, BRI assistance really supports the breeders who join the Mandiri Makmur Business Cluster. The assistance received is a feed machine used for processing animal feed. Thanks to this, they can have their own feed ingredients which of course reduces production costs too.
“BRI also provides bailout facilities through the PARI (Indonesian People's Market) application. This really helps us cluster members, both from the farmer and collector side. If we lack capital, we can open a bailout fund. So PARI really helps the group's welfare,” explained Edi.
Apart from that, Edi also explained that BRI helped with the process of selling their eggs because it brought the Mandiri Makmur Business Cluster to new markets.
“We are introduced to new agents throughout Indonesia so that we have more relationships. Apart from Lampung, we also market to Jakarta, Batam and various areas between provinces. It depends on the order, the important thing is that the price is right,” continued Edi.
Separately, BRI Micro Business Director Supari revealed that BRI is committed to continuing to assist and empower MSMEs through the KlasterkuHidupku program. Supari added that the 'My Life My Cluster' Business Cluster program has become a forum for MSME players to develop their business.
“We are committed to continuing to accompany and help MSMEs, not only in the form of business capital but also through business training and other empowerment programs, so that MSMEs can continue to grow and become more resilient,” he added.
He said that KlasterkuHidupku was very useful for business groups in getting support for empowerment programs. He hopes that this business cluster's efforts will become a motivation and inspirational story that can be imitated by other business groups in various regions.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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