Jembrana, Bali's New Economic Zone

Jembrana Regency, located in the western part of Bali, is projected to become a new economic zone by optimizing its agriculture, fisheries, and small and medium enterprises. The regency's potentials differ from those of southern Bali, mostly focused on tourism.

Jembrana will become a new force in the agriculture and fisheries sectors. For example, the government is massively developing cocoa plantations and training cocoa farmers, with the help of the Jembrana regency administration, Bank Indonesia (BI), and the Cooperatives and SMEs Ministry, to meet the export demands.

Currently, Jembrana can only produce 3,000 tons of cocoa per year. The Jembrana regency administration has started the cocoa plantation expansion by utilizing various lands owned by the Bali provincial administration.

Jembrana Regent I Nengah Tamba wants to make Jembrana become the largest cocoa producer in Bali and Nusa Tenggara. "We continue to expand cocoa clusters in every village with large land areas, such as Yeh Embang, Ekasari, and Pohsanten Village," Tamba said.