PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk or BNI signed a cooperation with PT Sinergi Gula Nusantara (SGN) in order to distribute People's Business Credit (KUR) and BNI Wirausaha (BWU) credit to sugarcane farmers.
This effort is in line with President Prabowo Subianto's Asta Cita to encourage national independence through food and energy self-sufficiency and in line with the company's initiative to contribute to advancing the agricultural sector and support the target of self-sufficiency in sugar consumption by 2028.
Their cooperation was marked by the signing of a Cooperation Agreement between BNI Business Program Division Leader Sunarna Eka Nugraha and Sinergi Gula Nusantara Finance Director Hariyanto which was held at BNI Headquarters, Jakarta, Wednesday (11/12/2024). BNI Retail Banking Director Corina Leyla Karnalies was also present to witness the signing of the cooperation.
Through this cooperation, BNI will distribute KUR and BWU to sugarcane farmers who have partnered with SGN. The potential financing to SGN partner sugarcane farmers reaches IDR1.17 trillion, where SGN will act as an off-taker or party that buys sugarcane harvested by farmers who receive KUR and BWU from BNI.
“As a state-owned bank, we are committed to supporting government priority programs, one of which is national food security and sugar self-sufficiency. This cooperation is a special moment because it can strengthen and intensify collaboration in supporting government programs,” Corina said in her speech.
According to Corina, BNI's role through this cooperation is to ensure that farmers get access to cheap, easy financing, accompanied by sufficient assistance. “Hopefully this cooperation will get better because this is the beginning and we will continue to improve. And this will be one of the manifestations of Indonesia's vision of sovereignty in the food sector,” continued Corina.
On the same occasion, Hariyanto said, the signing of this cooperation extension agreement is a continuation of the partnership that has existed between BNI and SGN since 2022. The distribution of KUR and BWU by BNI to sugarcane farmers has an important meaning in supporting food security, especially encouraging the realization of national sugar self-sufficiency in 2028.
“85% of sugar raw materials come from farmers, so an ecosystem that can support farmers' businesses is very important,” Hariyanto said.
The KUR and BWU distribution program is not only aimed to support the achievement of self-sufficiency in national sugar consumption, but also to improve the welfare of farmers. That way, farmers can contribute more in driving the economy.
“The impact is mainly in the distribution of farmer groups, and also in the end our stakeholders, namely farmers, become more prosperous. Nationally, the closest milestone is self-sufficiency in sugar consumption in 2028,” he added.