Semarang. Gubernatorial candidate Ahmad Luthfi and his running mate Taj Yasin Maimoen vowed to provide salaries for farmers in Central Java as an incentive for the youths who considered working in the agriculture sector if they win the provincial election on November 27.

However, the idea didn’t originally come from the candidate pair -- it was first announced by Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman who plans to implement the program at the national level.

In an interview with B-Universe Media Holdings last month, the minister said he planned to offer a minimum monthly salary of Rp 10 million to any “millennial generation” farmer working under the government’s food security program.

During the debate in Semarang on Sunday evening, Taj Yasin did mention that their plan would require collaboration with the central government.

"We have a program called ‘salary for millennial farmers’ through close collaboration with the central government," Taj Yasin said. 

In addition, the candidate pair will establish vocational schools specializing in agriculture in certain regencies including including Grobogan, Sragen, Klaten, and Magelang to attract the youth to work in the sector and innovate for better quality agricultural products. 

“Not to mention capital incentives for agribusinesses and support for market network development,” he said.

Zulkifli, a spokesperson for the candidates, clarified after the debate that the central government originally planned the farmers’ salary program.

"Farmers’ salary is a national program but we plan to improve the implementation in Central Java,” Zulkifli said. “The young generation is very reluctant to do farming jobs so we expect the program to become a stimulus.” 

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