The concept of sustainable development extends to all human activities. Agriculture is a privileged area of concretization because of the significant environmental, economic and social impacts of agrarian systems on a global scale.
The establishment of sustainable agriculture is nevertheless beneficial to rural development. The interactions between agricultural activities and economic, social and ecological balances are the historical evidence of agriculture contribution to development. Agriculture as a whole contributes to a more sustainable development of the societies. [1]
One of the three dimension of sustainability is economic pillar. According to the Secretary-General of UNCTAD “Organic farming can more easily lead to food security than most conventional systems and is more likely to be sustainable in the long term” [2]. Changes in dietary habits in parts of the populations of developed countries have contributed to this growth.
Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS)
As an effort to increase and marketing organic farming products. We have been collaborating with more than 700 farmers throughout Indonesia involved in making quality of our products. Through this collaboration our company is committed to prospering the lives of these farmers with PGS.
PGS is a guarantee of the organic farmer group in managing, production and marketing of its agricultural products by the Indonesian National Standard (SNI).
Becoming certified organic helps producers and handlers. First and foremost, it opens fast- growing door to burgeoning new markets and valuable economic opportunities, both locally and internationally. Receive premium prices for their products, support local economies, access additional funding and technical assistance, market products to consumers.
PGS can be adapted to local conditions. Low-cost certification with much less bureaucracy compared to third- party alternatives. This gives farmers access to organic markets they could otherwise not sell their produce at.
In our PGS, some members (Sartono on the picture above) have built a new house and can afford for their children to attend school regularly. We have bought equipment to harvest their coconut saps, and brought kitchen renovation for sugar processing and we give a fair and stable price for the farmer’s products.
