Jakarta. Desa Sejahtera Astra, the company's flagship village community empowerment program, has helped another village book exports.

One of the participating village communities, namely the Desa Sejahtera Astra Insan Madani Sukses in Malang, recently exported its cowpeas and fishery products to the Netherlands. The export was worth a total of Rp 63.2 billion or approximately $3.9 million.

The village will send off the Netherlands-bound exports in tranches over the course of 1 year. 

The first tranche of exports included 10 tons of cowpeas and 1,500 boxes of fishery products such as tilapia and catfish.

"We appreciate Astra's commitment to community development through the Desa Sejahtera program, as seen in how it could help local products compete globally amidst uncertain global market conditions," Trade Minister Budi Santoso said at the export release ceremony.

According to Astra's Chief of Corporate Affairs Riza Deliansyah, the company is committed to doing its best to help local communities in four pillars: health, education, environment, and entrepreneurship.

"By embracing a targeted strategic approach while also working together with both the central and local governments, we hope that the products that the Desa Sejahtera Astra's participating villages develop can become something that our country can be proud of," Riza said.

The export release was also a partnership between Astra, the Trade Ministry, and the Rural Development Ministry.

Desa Sejahtera Astar Insan Madani Sukses also launched its black-eyed pea and fishery production facility that day.

Desa Sejahtera Astra Insan Madani Sukses, which mainly focuses on Malang, is expanding its reach to Jember and Blitar. Its main commodities include black-eyed peas as well as smoked and salted fishery products. The village community will also partner with Islamic boarding schools, farmer groups, as well as local village-owned enterprises.

Last year, Desa Sejahtera Astra Insan Madani Sukses booked a contract worth $20 million from Dutch buyers for their cowpeas and fishery products at the Trade Expo Indonesia. The contract is for the 2023-2028 period.

The coaching program at Desa Sejahtera Astra Insan Madani Sukses has created 108 new jobs and increased local community income by up to 85 percent.

Since 2018, as many as 401 Desa Sejahtera Astra village communities have recorded export contracts so far. The exports made by these village communities between 2020 and 2024 reached Rp 343 billion.

This village empowerment program also aligns with Astra's goal to prosper together with the nation and support the country's sustainable development goals (SDGs) achievements.