APINDO South Sumatra and DBS Bank Explore Empowerment Program for Coffee Farmers
Saturday, 08 November 2025
PALEMBANG – The Indonesian Employers Association (APINDO) of South Sumatra continues to expand its initiatives to empower coffee farmers, this time through a partnership exploration with DBS Bank, one of the largest banks in Southeast Asia by assets.
Headquartered in Singapore, DBS Bank operates a branch in Palembang. Previously, APINDO had also collaborated with the International Labour Organization (ILO), a specialized United Nations agency focused on labor issues.
The ILO offered technical assistance for coffee farmers and plantation workers, emphasizing occupational health, safety, and productivity—key issues increasingly critical amid climate change.
As a major export commodity, the quality of South Sumatra’s coffee must meet global market standards.
“South Sumatra is the largest coffee-producing province, contributing 26 percent of national output. But we cannot be content with being the biggest—we must also be the best,” said Sumarjono Saragih, Chairman of APINDO South Sumatra, in an official statement on Saturday (November 8, 2025).
“We aim to make South Sumatra the center of excellence for sustainable coffee production in Indonesia. We must build an ecosystem from upstream to downstream, with farmers at its very core.”
To support this goal, APINDO has invited the DBS Foundation, a social impact arm of DBS Bank dedicated to community empowerment.
The DBS Foundation Indonesia has allocated IDR 100 billion over three years to improve the quality of life and economic resilience of vulnerable communities. This initiative is part of the DBS Group’s global commitment of SGD 1 billion for social sustainability programs.
The potential partnership between APINDO and DBS Bank was discussed during a visit by the bank’s leadership team to Palembang on November 4, 2025.
“We had dinner and talked about South Sumatra’s coffee. Present were DBS Indonesia’s President Director Lim Chu Chong, Executive Director Angela Thenaria from the Institutional Banking Group, and the DBS Palembang branch team,” Sumarjono said.
The meeting was also attended by Immanuel Xinata, Co-Founder of SoCOFI (South Sumatera Sustainable Coffee Initiatives), a multi-stakeholder platform that consolidates initiatives on sustainable coffee development in the region.
SoCOFI promotes sustainability in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dimensions—encouraging compliance with best practices in environmental protection, social responsibility, and good governance.
Aligned with DBS Foundation’s mission, APINDO South Sumatra also emphasized women’s empowerment within the coffee sector.
“Women play a significant role in coffee plantations, both in numbers and contribution. Therefore, capacity-building programs are essential to ensure equality, respect, and fulfillment of rights such as social and health security,” Sumarjono noted.
He concluded that sustainable coffee in South Sumatra must become both a necessity and a shared vision.
“Sustainable coffee from South Sumatra is our collective hope and responsibility. It will take collaboration from all sectors to achieve it,” he affirmed.
Source: agrofarm.co.id
