9 December 2016 | Jakarta, Indonesia | On Thursday last week, Kopernik and Javara Indigenous Indonesia joined together to co-host an important event in Indonesian agriculture. It marked the launch of Kopernik’s Unmet Needs Report that highlights gaps in post-harvesting processing, calling for better economic outcomes for smallholder farmers across the country.
With over 60 attendees representing organisations from the private, government, and development sectors the event was a huge success. Kopernik’s Co-Founder and COO, Ewa Wojkowska, opened the afternoon’s proceedings by highlighting the importance of such research and the dire need to find effective solutions to challenges that prevent farmers and their families from prospering.
Speakers from co-host, agro social enterprise Javara, and honoured guest Indonesian-Australian agricultural initiative PRISMA offered additional perspectives on this important issue.
A Q&A panel elicited energetic conversation amongst key actors in the agro sector about how we might resolve the challenges facing farmers. Kopernik’s Chief Strategy Officer and team lead on this research project, Tomo Hamakawa, said that the panel discussion specifically was, “exactly the kind of cross-sectoral collaboration we were calling for by undertaking this research.”
There was a collective consensus amongst attendees that the event offered valuable insights about the realities of processing technology shortfalls, supply chain limitations and market-related challenges facing many farmers. Abdillah Luhur from the Indonesian Bureau of Logistics said this kind of information is “very important for the government to know.”
Additionally, interest from attending social enterprises and tech start-ups points to the exciting potential for development solutions to be found outside of traditional government and non-government players. Anthony Hartanto from creative digital lab, Suitmedia, stated that the event "facilitates collaboration between agriculture and technology sectors to improve agriculture products in Indonesia. It opened my eyes that there is a huge opportunity for us, the young people, to take a part in improving agriculture sector in Indonesia."
At the conclusion of the event, attendees walked away with the necessary connections and meaningful insights that will enable positive changes in the agricultural sector. We believe that when there is a genuine interest in working together and relationships are sufficiently developed, taking collaborative action within the sector will be less challenging. This event has been a pivotal kick-off point for greater cross-sectoral collaboration and innovation to meet the unmet needs of farmers across the country.
If you are interested in partnering with Kopernik to find effective solutions for Indonesian farmers, please download the Unmet Needs Research Report or contact our Consulting and Advisory Services team today, consulting@kopernik.info
