Koperasi Peduli Rakyat Sejahtera - Smecda

KSP KARYA MANDIRI JEROWARU DISTRICT
East Lombok Regency
Progressing Together With Tobacco
and Seaweed Farmers
Seaweed is not only a hot commodity at
the market. The price of seaweed for
the last couple of years has been increasing
and made farmers in East Lombok
coastal area admit that it is more profitable to
be seaweed farmers than to be fishermen.
Some of seaweed farmers in Jerowaru
District, East Lombok, are members of Save
Loan Cooperation (KSP) of Karya Mandiri.
Most of them even develop seaweed cultivation
business after obtaining business capital
fund aid from such cooperation, mainly through
scrolling fund strengthening of Agribusiness/
Sector Program.
KSP Surya Mandiri is one of KSP with
agribusiness basis receiver of strengthening
fund in the amount of Rp 1 billion. This cooperation
led by Ahmad Zulyadaen obtained
such capital strengthening fund in 2004. Such
scrolling fund was then distributed to 80 farmers
to revive tobacco plantation and seaweed
cultivation business. In addition to those two
agribusiness types, there are also rice farmers
who obtain scrolling loan from KSP Surya
Mandiri. Each loan is imposed with interest in
the average amount of 2 % per month.
Karya Mandiri Save Loan Cooperation
was established on 11 September 2000. Initially
this cooperation was a KSU, based on
Members Resolution, which then changed to
become KSP in 2003. Such change was conducted
with the consideration to make the
business managed focused on one field, i.e.
providing Save Loan services. Along with such
status change, KSP Karya Mandiri establishment
deed was also amended. Moreover, after
this KSP opened a branch outside East
Lombok, such as in Praya District, Central
Lombok. Such area expansion obviously
needed ratification from Cooperation Service
and UKM of NTB Province.
Seaweed farmers in Jerowaru, East Lombok are
members of KSP Karya Mandiri.
Until the end of 2008, the number of
members of KSP Karya Madiri had been 445.
When it was established in 2000 the number
of members was only 21. Volume escalation
of KSP Karya Mandiri business keeps developing
fast. At the end of 2001 Business Volume
of KSP Karya Mandiri business in the
form of loan provided to the community was
only in the amount of Rp 704 million, then as
per 31 December 2008 it went up to become
Rp.14,592 billion.
Obviously, such vast progress experienced
by KSP Karya Mandiri is parallel with
the increase of its members’ prosperity. To
them, sector capital strengthening program
makes farmers in Jerowaru find it easier to
access business capital loan. Lalu Jumairi,
for example, who is a tobacco farmer in
Jerowaru Village opines that in addition to its
relatively low interest, i.e. 1.5% up to []%,
the loan procedures are not complicated.
“Easy and fast,” concluded Lalu Jumairi. As
a business capital loan receiver, Lalu Jumairi
has been successful in increasing his tobacco
production scale up to 50 percent from previous
production.
K o p e r a s i P e d u l i , R a k y a t S e j a h t e r a 87