Kebonagung Lime Increase Immunity in the Pandemic Period, this branding must be appointed in order to raise the yield of lime plantations in Kebonagung Village, Ujung Pangkah District, Gresik Regency. This was stated by the Regent of Gresik, Fandi Akhmad Yani during the release of the first export of Lime SMEs to the destination countries of Malaysia and Singapore, at the Kebonagung Village Hall, Ujungpangkah District on Wednesday (2/2/2022). By continuing to collaborate with related agencies and parties, in this case the Department of Trade and Industry, the Gresik Agriculture, Customs and Excise Service. "In fact, it is also synergizing with trade attaches in various countries carried out by the Gresik Regency Government, to accelerate the acceleration of regional economic recovery while at the same time realizing and realizing the New Gresik Nawa Karsa Program," continued the Regent who is familiarly called Gus Yani. "Kebonagung Village, Ujungpangkah District has extraordinary lime potential. The lime garden area is 450 hectares, producing an average of 2 to 3 tons of limes per month, and harvested every month", he said.
With this large capacity, a development strategy is needed. One of them is the market reach not only locally but also to foreign markets. "With continuous and ongoing assistance, and always actively communicating with attaches to be given promotional opportunities and continue to get buyers in Singapore and Malaysia," explained Gus Yani. "With such a process, business actors need readiness, toughness and enthusiasm. Likewise with each related agency, continue to improve the facilitation and facilities needed by MSMEs both in terms of increasing product quality, quantity and facilitating access market," he added. In addition to development on the marketing side, to empower the potential for large capacity of lime commodities in Kebonagung Village, the community can also develop or process limes into processed products with higher economic value. "For example, it is processed into beverage products, either in the form of liquids, extracts, instant powders or processed into belt products, cosmetics and so on," continued the Regent Gus Yani.
In addition, the cooperative that has been established in Kebonagung Village with a registered name with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights as a production cooperative "Super Lime Kebonagung" with legal entity number AHU-0013056.AH01.26 in 2021 can be empowered as a lime-based processed production cooperative. "This, apart from being a solution to the abundance of lime production, cooperatives can contribute to reducing unemployment and at the same time improving the welfare of villagers in particular, Gresik people in general," said Gus Yani. Gus Yani also hopes that with the cooperative that the Kebonagung Village Government has established, it will continue to offer products to keep reading for opportunities and continue to focus on market developments. And the farmers, focus on maintaining the quality of agriculture. At the end of his remarks, the Regent Gus Yani invited Gresik SMEs to work together to continue to be enthusiastic about penetrating foreign markets and hopefully this Super Lime Cooperative will turn Kebonagung into a foreign exchange village for plantation products," he concluded. Meanwhile, the Head of Kebonagung Village, Lubis Farisman on the occasion the same person said, at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, agricultural conditions in Kebonagung were very worrying. "The impact on farmers, where the price of lime is the lowest at IDR 700 per kilogram," he explained.
With the support of the Gresik Regency Government through the Department of Agriculture and Diskoperindag, Kebonagung Village can form a Super Lime Cooperative with the aim of improving the community's economy "Alhamdulillah now we can carry out the launch of the first export of Lime SMEs," he said. Head of Customs and Excise V of the Gresik Customs and Excise Office, Eko Rudi Hartono added, with the cooperative that had been formed by Pemdes Kebonagung, is expected to dare to do their own exports . "Customs, Trade and Industry and Trade and the Gading Emas Association will always be ready to collaborate to increase exports of lime from the Kebonagung Village plantation," he said.
