The Environmental Fund Management Agency (BPDLH) together with the Serasan Community Forestry Group (HKM Serasan) jointly discussed the revolving fund facility as a form of empowerment and improvement of the local coffee farmer economy. This activity was carried out in February to March in Air Selimang Village, Seberang Sungai Musi District, Kepahiang Regency-Bengkulu.
The revolving fund program for coffee farmers managed by HKM Serasan through the Environmental Fund Management Agency (BPDLH) is a strategic step in supporting sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation. BPDLH acts as a manager of financial resources allocated to support environmental conservation efforts and sustainable development in the region.
Regarding this revolving fund, Mr. Yoyon also explained the background and future functions, namely that this fund is distributed to coffee farmers who are actively involved in sustainable agricultural practices and preserving the environment. Coffee farmers can submit proposals to obtain funds according to their needs, such as for the development of environmentally friendly farming techniques, the use of organic fertilizers, or to improve agricultural infrastructure that supports environmental preservation.
One of the advantages of this revolving fund program is that the funds provided to coffee farmers are loans that must be repaid. After using the funds for agreed purposes, such as developing environmentally friendly coffee plantations, coffee farmers are expected to return the funds after harvesting and selling the coffee. The funds returned will be reused to provide assistance to other coffee farmers, creating a positive cycle in supporting sustainable agriculture.
"We will continue to provide the best possible efforts to empower the potential of local coffee farmers, one of which is by applying revolving funds from BPDLH to support the economy of coffee farmers.", said Yoyon.
In addition to providing funds, the program also provides mentoring and training to coffee farmers in sustainable farming techniques, financial management, and product marketing. In this way, coffee farmers not only receive financial support, but also increase their capacity to manage their farming businesses in a sustainable and efficient manner.
Through the revolving fund program for coffee farmers managed by HKM Serasan from BPDLH, it is hoped that various positive impacts will be created. In addition to improving the welfare of coffee farmers and local communities, this program also has the potential to improve the quality of the environment in the area and empower farmers to become agents of change in more sustainable agricultural practices. Thus, this program not only contributes to economic and environmental development, but also to increasing the capacity and independence of local communities.
Yoyon also explained, "In the implementation of this program, we and other colleagues also always provide full support with mentoring and evaluation patterns. The plan is that we will continue to do this agenda as an effort to encourage and develop the potential of coffee farming communities so that in the future this potential can be more independent in processing the results".
Apart from the information obtained as above, Yoyon also provided suggestions and hopes for the Indonesian Social Forestry Association (AP2SI) for the future, "We can actually be said to be an institution that is located far away, namely in Bengkulu, therefore we also ask for help from other institutions such as AP2SI to also help groups like us who are far away from being reached directly, I think things like this really help us."
