Bloom Agro is an Indonesian social enterprise founded by Emily Sutanto. The company aims to promote

sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...

and improve humanity. It is Indonesia's first

organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...

and

fair-trade Fair trade is an arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. The fair trade movement combines the payment of higher prices to exporters with improved social and enviro ...

rice producer and exporter. Bloom Agro currently works with 2300 small-scale farmers in the Simpatik Farmers Association in Tasikmalaya,

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

, to export their rice that is grown organically with

System of Rice Intensification A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and expressed ...

(SRI) methods. Sutanto worked with the farmers to obtain international organic and

fair trade certification A fair trade certification is a product certification within the market-based movement fair trade. The most widely used fair trade certification is FLO International's, the International Fairtrade Certification Mark, used in Europe, Africa, Asi ...

through IMO and successfully lobbied to exempt specialty rice from Indonesia's rice export ban. She has also revolutionized the supply chain by empowering these farmers so that they do not have to rely on tengkulak anymore. Within three years of founding Bloom Agro, Sutanto is exporting SRI organic rice including several traditional varieties, to Germany,

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

and the United States.

History

After hearing about organic farming practices in Tasikmalaya, West Java, Sutanto took a trip to the region to see the farms. When she arrived, instead of finding well-structured agricultural practices, she met desperate farmers lost in the bureaucratic scuffle of organic certification and export regulations. The farmers are also trapped in endless poverty cycles as the rice market is dominated by unfair practices of tengulak (English: loan shark traders). Inspired by their plateaued dreams, Emily Sutanto decided to take on the challenge and initiates to be the project leader .

Products

Bloom Agro focuses mostly on the export of fair-trade organic rice, its first innovation was the "Volcano Rice", a colorful proprietary blend of brown, pink, and red rice grown in volcanic soil which is rich in many essential minerals; this rice mix is graining popularity in USA and Europe."Growing Success: Exporting SRI Organic Rice from Indonesia"

References

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External links

2009 establishments in Indonesia Organic farming organizations