Batu Farmers Export Record Number of Potatoes to Singapore

Batu - Farmers in the East Java provincial town of Batu, working together as the Mitra Arjuna Farmers Association, have for the first time exported 32 tons of potatoes to Singapore, the farmer's group spokesman said. Chairman of the Mitra Arjuna farmers association, Lukik Budiarti, said here on Tuesday that local farmers began exporting potatoes after meeting with a number of Singaporean importers. The Batu farmers chose to export potatoes because the Singapore market has a strong demand for them, he said. "We organized the local farmers to cultivate potatoes, after the Singaporean importers expressed their interest in purchasing potatoes from Batu," Lukik Budiarti said. According to Budiarti, 27 farmers in Junggo village planted potatoes on about 40 hectares of land. The farmers' spokesman said the potatoes cultivation was financially supported by the Central Bank (Bank Indonesia/BI) with loans valued at 25 million rupiah, along with other assistance from the provincial Bank Jatim. Further, head of the Bank Indonesia Malang chapter Totok Hermiyanto said that the financial assistance provided to local farmers was aimed at empowering the agriculture sector in Kota Batu region. "We also assisted the farmers in meeting with the Singaporean importers, hoping that they can plant their agricultural crops," Totok added. (*)