Heaptalk, Jakarta – The appearance of the Covid-19 pandemic to the world has skyrocketed digital transformation in Indonesia, including the agriculture sector. Agritech is evidently has a huge potential to improve Indonesian Agriculture system, both in the process of planting, preserving, and distribution. BRI, further, has capitalized on this moment towards agritech funding to revitalize Indonesia’s economy and promote the nation food self-sufficiency.
The pandemic that changes people behavior to reduce direct interaction has drive transformation technology in several sectors, including agriculture. Although today’s progress of digital transformation in agriculture is not as fast as in other sectors, people should remember that agriculture is the oldest technology developed since ancient times. In addition, by considering population growth, agricultural products’ demand will rise every year, and to capture it, agritech is needed to be employed. This condition, then, signs that the business trend in agritech is up-and-coming.
Kaspar Situmorang, BRI Executive Vice President Digital Development, and Operation, said, “In the past, investors will be skeptical about agritech and e-groceries. But, nowadays, the pandemic that has forced the enhancement of online buying groceries also provoke the global fund to enter agritech.”
In addition to generating profits, agritech also presents benefits for farmers and customers. Agritech has optimized agriculture production and accelerated the distribution process by directly sending the food supply to the customers. Previously, Indonesia’s conventional system makes the post-harvest fall to 25% due to the obstruction of distribution and the absence of preserving technology. But, agritech has successfully tackled this problem.
In the distribution process, agritech enables harvest to be directly distributed to the customers. This technology allows the farmers to receive higher compensation and entitles the customer to obtain a lower price. For these reasons, agritech has increased the welfare of farmers and society.
After perceiving the bright potential business in this sector and considering its benefit to society, BRI starts to dive into this business. BRI Group subsidiaries have launched several programs to boost agritech value chain. BRI Venture Investment, for example, has encouraged agritech through its venture capital. This program was established to mentor and provide investment to the selected participant, including agritech start-up, such as Tanihub. In this program, the participant learned to advance their business model through support from experts that the company provides. The mentoring also discusses the actions that should be avoided in the business based on the experts’ experience.
BRI Ventures has highlighted that collaboration is substantial to grow agritech in Indonesia through this program. All parties, including big companies, start-ups, investors, and entrepreneurs, should work hand-in-hand to elevate agritech to materialize national food-self sufficiency.
As the effort in building agritech ecosystem, in terms of financing, BRI also provides the Kredit Usaha Rakyat (KUR) to MSMEs, namely Indonesian farmers. In 2020, the Bank has managed to distribute 125.3 trillion to more than 5.2 million beneficiaries. In particular, the BRI group has developed a subsidiary, known as BRI Agro, that delivers peer-to-peer landing focuses on Indonesia’s agriculture. BRI Agro has bolstered funds to several agritech start-ups such as Aruna, Tanihub, and iGrow. (WLN)
