JAKARTA – The Minister of Villages and Development of Disadvantaged Regions (Mendes PDT), Yandri Susanto, aims to increase literacy regarding the importance of quarantine protocols among Village Heads.

This was conveyed by Minister Yandri during a meeting with the Head of the Indonesian Quarantine Authority (Barantin), Abdul Kadir Karding, at the Minister's Meeting Room on Monday (May 11, 2026).

"There are 75,266 Village Heads, and we observed that quarantine literacy remains minimal. Therefore, we invite Barantin to establish a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and a Cooperation Agreement (PKS) to strengthen this literacy," said Minister Yandri.

Minister Yandri also plans to involve the eight Village Associations partnered with the Ministry, including Apdesi Merah Putih, PAPDESI, and PABPDSI. The goal is for Village Heads and their staff to have a deeper understanding of quarantine regulations to prevent future legal or procedural issues caused by a lack of detailed knowledge.

"We are ready to collaborate because this is vital information for everyone in the village, including our 34,000 Village Facilitators," Minister Yandri added.

Meanwhile, the Head of Barantin, Abdul Kadir Karding, welcomed the collaboration, noting that villages are now subjects of national development. Barantin views villages as having significant resource potential, though it remains limited by sub-optimal quality standardization.

"Therefore, we must push for export-priority villages to have standardization and certification to facilitate their export processes," said Kadir Karding.

The Head of Barantin proposed a rationalized synergy between the Ministry and his agency: the creation of Biosecurity-Based Export Villages with Guaranteed Quality.

In this proposed framework, the Ministry of Villages would focus on strengthening Village-Owned Enterprises (BUMDesa) institutions, increasing production capacity, community empowerment, and rural infrastructure. Barantin, on the other hand, would provide the Biosecurity System, commodity traffic supervision mandates, Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards, and export gateway facilities.

The realization of this synergy may include the development of Biosecurity-Based Villages to serve as a defense against pests and diseases. Other initiatives include the "One Village, One Export Commodity" program, Village Quarantine Clinics, BUMDesa Export Hubs, Quarantine Field Schools, and Village Digital Traceability.

Accompanying Minister Yandri were Secretary-General Taufik Madjid, Head of BPI Mulyadin Malik, Head of BPSDM Agustomi Masik, Director General of PEID Tabrani, and Expert Staff Sugito.

Photo: Didi/Kemendes PDT 
Text: Firman/Kemendes PDT