The agricultural business system built together with several other Taiwan Technical Mission partners has increased the income of Karawang farmers by 70 percent compared to that before.

Karawang, W Java (Indonesia Window) – The Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM) in the agricultural sector working in Indonesia has different characteristics from other similar missions or organizations.

“What distinguishes the TTM from others is that we ‘accompany’ farmers starting from seed production and sowing, land management that includes planting technology, preparation of agricultural materials such as fertilizers, harvesting with machines and labor, and storage of harvest and packaging agricultural products,” the leader of the Taiwan Technical Mission for Indonesia, Dennis Kao, has said recently in Karawang district, West Java province.

After packing the harvest, he continued, the TTM also helps farmers distribute their agricultural products to several partner supermarkets, such as KEMCHICKS, PAPAYA Fresh Gallery, and YOGYA Group.

“The packaged vegetables have met the desired standards, both in quality and quantity per package,” Dennis explained.

The TTM has been in Indonesia since 1976 with East Java province as the first region to become the location of the Taiwan agricultural mission, he noted, adding that in Karawang, cooperation between the mission and the local government and farmers was established in 2018.

"During the mission in Karawang, the TTM succeeded in developing 30 hectares of agricultural land and assisting 78 local farmers in cultivating their land with technology to produce a quality vegetable harvest in quantities many times greater than before," Dennis pointed out.

In addition, with the agricultural business system built together with several other TTM’s partners, the income of Karawang farmers has increased by 70 percent.

"In the first year, farmers only sold their vegetables in traditional markets. In the second year, we helped them so that their agricultural products could enter supermarkets, and only 50 percent were absorbed," Dennis said, adding that Karawang farmers' agricultural products are now directly purchased by well-known supermarkets in Jakarta.

Although Taiwan's agricultural mission in Karawang will end in December 2025, Dennis assured that the relationship with Indonesian farmers will continue.

"They also don't need to worry about the availability of Taiwanese vegetable seeds, because in Central Java province there are already shops that provide them," he said.

Dennis hoped that the level of cooperation between the Taiwan Technical Mission and several parties in Indonesia could be elevated to the ministerial level, so that more Indonesian farmers can join this agricultural mission and feel the benefits from the economic, social, and technological aspects.

Taiwan's success in helping Karawang farmers was recognized by a former head of Karawang district for the 2016–2020 and 2021–2023 periods, Cellica Nurrachadiana.

"The TTM in Karawang was established in 2018, when I was a district head of Karawang for six years, until today," she said on the same occasion, and on the same day.

In addition to West Karawang sub-district, she continued, the TTM is also present in Jayakerta sub-district to overcome drought and help develop agricultural crops.

Cellica, who is now a legislator in the Indonesian House of Representatives, hoped that cooperation with the Taiwan Agricultural Mission would continue, especially in Karawang, and in other regions throughout Indonesia.

The Taiwan Technical Mission is part of the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), which is dedicated to improving socio-economic development, improving human resources, and promoting economic relations in various developing partner countries.

In addition to Karawang, the current working area of ​​the Taiwan Technical Mission includes South Sulawesi province with a mission to develop rice fields and increase rice production, and North Sumatra which focuses on garlic and shallots.

In Karawang, the Taiwanese Technical Mission is developing local vegetable farming, such as cauliflower, green bitter melon, and eggplant, as well as new varieties of vegetables from Taiwan, including red long beans, Taiwanese loofah, white bitter melon, and red okra.

Reporting by Indonesia Window