MoFCREC Jakarta team meeting with the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (KemenPPPA)
MoFCREC Jakarta Team have a meeting with KEMENPPA to share and discuss our policy brief and received feedback from KEMENPPA team
In January 2026, the MoFCREC Jakarta-based team, Dr. Sabina Puspita, Dr. Miya Irawati, and Dr. Yulisna Mutia Sari held a strategic meeting with the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (KemenPPPA) in Jakarta. The meeting took place on 28 January 2026 at the Asdep Gender Mainstreaming Meeting Room and focused on presenting MoFCREC's policy brief and gathering feedback from the KemenPPPA team.
The discussion provided valuable insights into the complexities of gender, economic vulnerability, and climate resilience in Indonesia. KemenPPPA highlighted the importance of ensuring that policy recommendations remain coherent and do not contradict existing frameworks, particularly in relation to debt and financial access for women. Field findings shared during the meeting underscored challenges faced by women, especially in rural areas such as East Lombok, where many are excluded from agricultural support systems and formal financial services. In some cases, women take on loans under their names without full control over the assets, while facing extremely high interest rates from informal lending schemes.
KemenPPPA also emphasized the need to strengthen partnerships with community organizations to provide alternative livelihood opportunities and entrepreneurship training. Government-supported schemes such as subsidized microcredit (KUR) were discussed as more sustainable options compared to high-interest loans. At the same time, concerns were raised about financial literacy, as many borrowers lack clear records of their loans and interest obligations.
The MoFCREC team highlighted the importance of cross-ministerial collaboration to reduce the burden on women, particularly in the context of debt and unpaid care work. The discussion also explored how religious and community spaces can be leveraged to raise awareness about climate change and social transformation.
The MoFCREC Jakarta Team and KemenPPPA taking a group photo
Another key theme was the care economy. KemenPPPA shared its current initiatives to elevate the value of care work, including developing competency frameworks for care services (such as elderly care and childcare), promoting daycare models in industrial and community settings, and expanding employment opportunities in the care sector. These efforts are closely linked to gender mainstreaming and broader development goals.
The meeting also reflected on successful local practices, including women-led coastal initiatives in Makassar and community-based economic diversification efforts. Examples such as women’s fisheries groups and cooperative models demonstrated how grassroots innovation can contribute to both economic resilience and social protection.
Importantly, KemenPPPA expressed openness to future collaboration with MoFCREC. Potential areas include co-developing policy briefs, establishing formal partnerships (MoUs), and sharing research outputs. The ministry also welcomed opportunities to connect with academic institutions, including student research contributions, to strengthen evidence-based policymaking.
This meeting marked an important step in strengthening collaboration between research and policy actors, ensuring that MoFCREC’s work continues to inform inclusive, gender-responsive, and climate-resilient development in Indonesia.