As part of efforts to build synergy with the new government administration, the Sabu Raijua regional office of the SHEEP Indonesia Foundation (YSI) conducted an official visit to the Vice Regent of Sabu Raijua, Ir. Thobias Uly, M.Si, on Tuesday (May 6, 2025). The visit was led by Sarif Hidayat, Area Manager for Sabu Raijua, accompanied by representatives of the Titu Hari Community-Based Organization (OMB) from Keliha Village. This meeting served as an important step to revitalize the synergy between the community and the local government.
During the meeting, which took place in the Vice Regent’s office, YSI presented a series of programs that have been implemented in Sabu Raijua from 2021 to 2027, with the current focus being the establishment of a local food production house based on village potential. The discussion also covered concrete forms of collaboration between the community and the district government.
The meeting also served as an opportunity to introduce a local food-based processed product developed by OMB Titu Hari of Keliha Village: Taba Riko Cereal. This product stands as tangible evidence of commitment to local food. Made from local ingredients such as corn, sorghum, mung beans, Sabu sugar, milk, and dried papaya and banana, the cereal is intended not only to improve nutrition for toddlers and the elderly but also to act as a trigger for community-based local economic development. “Taba Riko Cereal is our strategy to increase the added value of local food products. As the product’s value increases, it will stimulate production, strengthen food sovereignty, and directly contribute to community welfare,” explained Sarif Hidayat during his presentation.
YSI and OMB Titu Hari encouraged the active role of the Regional Government in strengthening community initiatives for local food development through policies, regulations, program planning, and budget allocation for supporting facilities, as well as strengthening farmer groups and production houses. The Vice Regent of Sabu Raijua welcomed YSI and OMB Titu Hari’s efforts and expressed the government’s support for empowerment programs and local food development. “This is very much aligned with our development direction. We are ready to support and urge the community to resume planting local crops such as sorghum and mung beans, and to promote the implementation of the ‘One Village, One Product’ program,” stated the Vice Regent.
This meeting marked a step toward strengthening synergy and collaboration among stakeholders, in which the community plays a central role in development, working in synergy with the government and civil society organizations such as YSI to create sustainable change rooted in local potential.
