FEED Mobile Program - Mercy Corps Indonesia

Indramayu is known as the granary of West Java. The agricultural sector is a representation of economic activities in Indramayu. By building this sector, in addition to increasing the per capita income, will also improve the distribution of incomes in the society. Based on this fact, Mercy Corps Indonesia designed and implement the FEED Mobile program. Working together with BKP3 Indramayu, and also alongside three local MFIs, Koperasi Mitra Usaha Mandiri - Gabuswetan, BPR PK - Kroya, and government-owned BPR Karya Remaja to reach 5,000 farmers in Indramayu.The program’s goal is to increase the knowledge and ability of farmers, in managing family finances, through face to face training method and also digital method of broadcasting information. So that farmers can access formal financial institutions, which in turn will support increased productivity and living standards of the farmers. One of the FEED Mobile program’s effort to introduce and create access to formal financial institutions for farming communities in Indramayu, Mercy Corps Indonesia partners with 3 local MFI, one of which is BPR Karya Remaja. The FEED Mobile program also undertake the development of techniques for distributing information and collecting data, through digital Android based application and mobile text message called the PEKA Service, PEKA Android Applications and the Kumpul Data App. Farmers who are registered as users of the PEKA text message service, will automatically receive SMS information about financial education and agriculture free three times a week. PEKA Android app serves as a communication platform where farmers, can see articles on financial education, agriculture, and conduct Q & A with experts on finance and agriculture information. While for data collection for progress measurement, FEED Mobile developed an application called Kumpul Data, a survey application in digital form, that is able to maintain the validity of the data and can make the data collection process moch more effective and efficient. With the digital elements in this program, it has been ascertained that the FEED Mobile program is a program that is very advanced in its efforts to improve the ecocomic standard of the agricultural sector. Agriculture is one of the most important economic sector in Indonesia, with a land area of about 9.5 million hectares of potential farmland. Indramayu itself is one of the largest agricultural fields in West Java as well as a granary for the province of West Java. Not only agriculture, Indramayu has many other potential natural resources such as oil and gas, and fisheries. Indramayu’s agricultural potential will be much more developed if it is accompanied by strengthening the knowledge of the farmers. Not only farm pests that will pose be a challenge for farmers in Indramayu, but also the lack of knowledge of basic financial management is one of the obstacles of progressing in managing farmers’ assets and the use of technology. Pak Nurdin and Ibu Tami are two examples of farmers who have participated in the FEED Mobile program. With hope that the farmers in the indramayu, also throughout Indonesia, can follow in their footsteps in order to increase productivity and their standard of living by being able to manage the family finances well. Mercy Corps Indonesia will continue to be committed to provide social development programs and support efforts to improve the economy of the farming community in Indonesia.