by: Anita Pella, SSi
Young Expert Statistician, BPS, South Central Timor Regency
Let's call her Maria. Maria lives in Koa Village, South Central Timor Regency. In addition to her farming business, Maria also operates a small kiosk. Every day, Maria sells instant noodles, coffee, sugar, cigarettes, and gasoline—items typically needed by her neighbors. Maria's kiosk is small, no more than ten square meters, just a simple, dirt-floored building. Maria has never kept bookkeeping records, and her business has no sign. Neighbors don't visit her kiosk every day, so cash flow is slow. Maria has never considered obtaining a business license because even surviving is difficult; the money she earns from her kiosk today will be used again tomorrow. The word "entrepreneur" is too luxurious for Maria. All she knows is that this is the only micro-business she owns. A business that can turn around the kitchen smoke and send her two children to school. Maria's business represents the majority of MSMEs in South Central Timor Regency.
Maria shows that poverty is real and all around us. Therefore, economic development should not only benefit a select few. It must benefit all parties and be objective. Therefore, development must have a single, definitive compass. That compass is called data.
Data as the Compass of National Development
The goal of national development is to create as many jobs as possible, increase economic growth that benefits the majority of the population, and provide everyone with the opportunity to escape poverty. This is where the role of Statistics Indonesia (BPS) becomes crucial. BPS is not simply a number-keeping institution. BPS plays a vital role in capturing the socio-economic conditions of society. The figures produced by BPS represent the economic phenomena that exist in society. Without data, economic development is based solely on assumptions. Without data, economic development only benefits a select few. Without accurate statistics, economic development will not change the fate of Maria and the majority of people like her.
South Central Timor Regency is the fifth poorest regency in East Nusa Tenggara Province. East Nusa Tenggara Province is also one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia. In other words, South Central Timor Regency is the poorest regency in the poorest province in Indonesia. Therefore, the region must capitalize on the momentum of the Economic Census to examine the causes of poverty and how to recover from the current situation.
The Current Face of South Central Timor Regency
According to published data from South Central Timor Regency for 2025, the decline in the poverty rate in South Central Timor Regency is actually quite good. The data shows that the poverty rate in 2020 was 27.49 percent, decreasing to 26.64 percent in 2021, decreasing again to 25.45 percent in 2022, decreasing again to 25.18 percent in 2023, and finally decreasing to 24.68 percent in 2024. However, when compared to Indonesia's poverty rate, which currently hovers around 8 percent, the poverty gap is far too large. This indicates that the regency has worked hard to reduce the poverty rate, but compared to other regencies/provinces in Indonesia, South Central Timor Regency still lags far behind.
If we examine the business structure in South Central Timor Regency (based on the publication of the GRDP of South Central Timor Regency's business sectors), the majority of the population works in agriculture. This agricultural sector is dependent on rainfall. Delayed or low rainfall can seriously jeopardize household food security. Food stocks dwindle or run out, leading to hunger, and of course, exacerbating the stunting and malnutrition already prevalent in the regency.
In addition to working in the agricultural sector, some residents have non-agricultural businesses outside their households. They operate simple kiosks and build furniture businesses. Some operate workshops. Others work as carpenters.
Take Jared, for example, who runs a furniture business in his yard in Neonmat, West Amanuban District. Every day, he makes chairs, tables, cupboards, and beds. His equipment is limited, and his sales reach is limited to the West Amanuban area and Soe City. Even then, he doesn't receive orders every month. He works hard, but his income doesn't fluctuate much from year to year.
When there's an economic shock, people like Jared are the first to feel the impact. They have had to cut back on their expenses, reduce their food portions, postpone their plans to continue their education, and even take out loans from loan sharks. Even the most extreme
