Young West Sumatran entrepreneur Brian Putra Bastara stated that investment opportunities in Minang are not only in the tourism sector, but also in the agricultural and livestock industries, as well as promising investment potential. "Recently, West Sumatra has received a touch of investment in the tourism sector with the presence of the Marawa Beach Club at Air Manis Beach, Padang City. The owner is Raffi Ahmad, who previously founded the Mari Beach Club in Bali," said Chairman of the West Sumatra HIPMI, Brian Putra Bastara, Wednesday. May 4, 2022. This, said Brian, gives a positive signal to the tourism sector in West Sumatra, which is indeed the same beauty of beaches and nature as Bali, if it is worked on optimally. "Well, to maximize the potential that exists in West Sumatra, many investors are needed. Not only the tourism sector. West Sumatra also has other potential and opportunities such as the agricultural and livestock industry sectors which are quite promising," continued Brian. According to him, the touch of investment is one of the important points in reviving the economy of a region, without investment it will be difficult to develop. "West Sumatra has 'green gold' in terms of the potential for agricultural commodities and smallholder plantations that produce raw materials. For example, corn, gambier, peanuts, coffee, cocoa and other agricultural commodities," he said. He stated that the production of raw materials for agricultural commodities in West Sumatra has also entered the export market, which means that it is sufficient to meet the needs of the local market.
He explained that based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) that the production of shelled corn in 2021 was recorded at 948,063 tons. "This commodity is spread in almost all regencies/cities in West Sumatra. The highest production in 2021 will be in West Pasaman Regency, which is 283,113 tons," he explained. Then, the production of gambier in 2020 was also recorded at around 7,582 tons and the highest production was in Limapuluh Kota Regency. "Not to mention other agricultural commodities such as Peanuts, Ginger, Turmeric, Coffee, Soybeans and so on. It is conceivable that if entrepreneurs, especially investors overseas, wanted to look at this sector, then economic growth in West Sumatra would develop," he said. It would be better, said Brian, for each district/city to be mapped individually for the leading centers for agricultural commodities. However, it also does not cover areas outside the leading centers for planting the same commodity, only focusing on priorities in terms of quantity or area of planting. This much-needed investment, he added, is a kind of industry of various processed products from these agricultural raw materials. Starting from the home industry, small, medium and not even closed to large-scale industry. "So hopefully, starting from planting to harvesting, until it is processed and produced into ready-to-consume materials or packaged products, it will be carried out in West Sumatra," Brian hopes.
In addition, West Sumatra also has potential and investment opportunities from the livestock and fisheries sector. Whether it's the type of poultry and cattle, goats and others. "From BPS data, beef production in 2019 was recorded at around 21,589 tons and the most produced was in Padang City, which was around 3,165 tons. Not to mention the potential for fisheries cultivation and the SME sector," he said. "There are quite a lot of Minang entrepreneurs overseas and it's time to look at the multi-sector potential in West Sumatra as an investment field," continued Brian. These potentials, said Brian, are scattered in almost all regencies/cities in West Sumatra. "In the tourism sector, it can be started by investing in improvements in leading tourist points in West Sumatra. Be it the provision of main infrastructure facilities and supporting infrastructure such as hotels, resorts and so on," he said. "Destinations for the beauty of the beach or the sea in West Sumatra have many tourist objects, apart from the city of Padang. The Mandeh area on the South Coast, marine tourism objects in the Mentawai Islands, Angso Duo Island in Pariaman. These are among the potential for beach or sea tourism in West Sumatra," he explained. Then, West Sumatra also has the potential of other tourism sectors such as in Bukittinggi, Payakumbuh and there is also a beautiful lake in Agam Regency and Solok Regency. "Even the potential for tourism destinations based on local wisdom, cultural history, geoparks and other destinations in Sawahlunto, Sijunjung, Dharmasraya, Batu Sangkar, Padang Panjang, South Solok and Pasaman," he said. Meanwhile, in the agriculture and plantation sector, said Brian, West Sumatra has many good types of commodities. He mentioned, HIPMI has also made efforts to empower regional entrepreneurs to be actively involved in improving the economy, by embracing relevant stakeholders. Starting from the SME sector, various processed products from livestock production, and other oil and gas sectors.
