Bekasi, W Java (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that the social forestry program is aimed at improving the welfare of farmers.

"We distributed the field, especially for the shrimp farmers as we do not want big companies to dominate the land," the president said here on Wednesday.

The decree letter of land utilization is given for low-economy people in Indonesia.

Widodo stated that a similar business model, which utilizes the social forestry for small, medium enterprises, will be implemented in other regions of Indonesia.

According to the president, the utilization of community forest will be aided by financial assistance from the bank.

The construction of shrimp ponds will be conducted by a state enterprise, Perikanan Indonesia Company.

The community forest provides land for the farmers for a term of 35 years.

"We will extend the term if the program is productive and supports the prosperity of the farmers. The land status also has legal power," Jokowi remarked.

The president also distributed the decree letter of community forestry utilization to the farmers.

The five community forestry letters were given to Mina Bakti Farmer Group in Bekasi District, Mandiri Teluk Jambe Bersatu Farmer Group in Karawang District, Community Forestry Association of Bukit Alam in Karawang District, Community Forestry Association of Mekarjaya in Karawang District, and Community Forestry of Mulya Jaya in Karawang District. (*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017