President Jokowi and Minister Erick Thohir's Santri Makmur Program Sparks Profitable Farming Projects.

Petrokimia Gresik, an Agroindustry Solutions company and a member of the Pupuk Indonesia group, is following up on the Santri Makmur program launched by President Jokowi and Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir some time ago through the "Wirakarya Santri Makmur" program. The aim is to encourage the emergence of creative ideas and generate profitable agricultural projects. In an event held in Gresik, East Java, on Thursday (7/9), Petrokimia Gresik selected the top five best agricultural projects from the Santri Makmur program for further training and development.

The selected Santri (students) include Pondok Pesantren (PP) Manba'ul Ulum (Champion I). This PP from Bojonegoro Regency chose corn as its commodity for the project. Other winners include PP Fathul Ulum from Jombang Regency (Champion II/sweet corn), PP Darussalam Banyuwangi (Champion III/chili), PP Al-Karimi Gresik (Hope I/paddy), and PP Mambadi'ul Ikhsan Banyuwangi (Hope II/corn).

The President Director of Petrokimia Gresik expressed that the best projects were selected by a competent jury, consisting of the Petrokimia Gresik team, Rabithah Ma'ahid Islamiyah (RMI) of the Nahdlatul Ulama Regional Board (PWNU) of East Java, and experts from the Agricultural Development Polytechnic (Polbangtan). One of the evaluation criteria was profitability.

"The hope is that these projects inspire other Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia and agriculture in the country to realize Indonesia as the world's food barn by 2045," said Dwi Satriyo.

Santri Makmur is a program initiated by Petrokimia Gresik to enhance productivity and advance agriculture in Indonesia by involving students from Islamic boarding schools. The program was officially inaugurated by the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, during the 100th anniversary celebration of NU in Banyuwangi on January 9, 2023.

Petrokimia Gresik collaborates with RMI PWNU East Java in Santri Makmur. The program serves as a platform for developing the potential of students to actively participate in preparing high-quality agricultural human resources to manage agricultural projects.

A total of 120 students from 12 Islamic boarding schools are involved in this program. The students are tasked with creating agricultural projects, from preparing the land to cultivation and harvesting. Each project receives funding from Petrokimia Gresik for implementation, with a total funding of Rp162 million.

"Santri Makmur is one of the strategies presented by Petrokimia Gresik to support the Makmur Program. Petrokimia Gresik, along with all relevant stakeholders, is fully committed to actively contributing and synergizing in improving agricultural productivity and the regeneration of millennial farmers in the Makmur Program," emphasized Dwi Satriyo.

He added that through the Santri Makmur program, the students have the opportunity to become mentors for agricultural projects within their Islamic boarding schools. They act as tutors, providing education on agricultural projects at the Islamic boarding schools.

"We hope Santri Makmur can be one of the historical milestones for the Pupuk Indonesia Group and Petrokimia Gresik in creating a new future in agriculture," concluded Dwi Satriyo.