DIGIVESTASI - President Prabowo Forgives Bad Loans for MSMEs in Agriculture and Fisheries Sectors, President Prabowo Subianto has enacted a policy to forgive bad loans for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the agriculture, plantation, livestock, and fisheries sectors. This policy is outlined in Government Regulation (PP) No. 47 of 2024, which was officially signed on Tuesday (November 5).

This initiative is expected to boost agricultural production and the fish catches of fishermen, which are key sources of food for the Indonesian people. By eliminating their debts, farmers, fishermen, livestock breeders, and MSME operators can work more peacefully without the burden of loans.

"This demonstrates that the Indonesian people deeply respect the food producers who play a crucial role in the nation's life," said Prabowo in his statement at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta.

Many farmers and fishermen have struggled to access bank loans due to poor credit histories, forcing them to turn to loan sharks or online lending services. 

The Minister of MSMEs, Maman Abdurrahman, said that this debt forgiveness program will target around 1 million farmers, fishermen, and MSME operators, with the total value of bad loans reaching IDR 10 trillion. The policy applies to those who have loans with banks that are members of the Association of State-Owned Banks (Himbara).

The maximum debt forgiveness is set at IDR 500 million for business entities and IDR 300 million for individuals. However, the policy only applies to those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic or natural disasters such as earthquakes.

Maman clarified that the program is intended for those genuinely unable to repay their debts or whose loans have been in default for 10 years. "So, not all MSME operators will have their debts forgiven—only those who are beyond help," he explained during a press conference after the issuance of PP 47/2024.

For MSME operators who are still deemed capable of continuing their business, their debts will not be forgiven. Maman also emphasized that the IDR 10 trillion debt forgiveness will not come from the state budget but will be handled through a bank write-off scheme.

"The banks already have data on MSME operators eligible for the debt write-off," he added.

Present at the signing of PP 47/2024 were the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, Minister of MSMEs Maman Abdurrahman, Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani, along with several other officials and figures from the agriculture and fisheries sectors.

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