Agriculture in Indonesia
Agriculture is key to the economy of Indonesia, where
it accounts for 43% of total employment and directly contributes 15% to the
GDP. Despite its importance and role in the national economy, national food
production is still insufficient to meet the food security needs of Indonesia’s
citizens. USAID programs address the problem of food insecurity in several
ways. They seek to improve the value chains for key high-value crops; introduce
and disseminate agricultural biotechnology and improve management practices,
and build the capacity of public and private institutions.
Agricultural Value Chains–High-value agriculture
products have real potential to drive growth, employment, and incomes. In
Indonesia, the competitiveness of this sector is constrained by low investment,
inadequate infrastructure, and underdeveloped agribusiness practices. USAID has
two programs that are working in high-value agriculture. A 5-year, $20 million agricultural
market development project will continue USAID’s prior work in developing
Indonesia’s agricultural sector through strong, well-developed value chains.
While a preceding program reached more than 190,000
individual farmers, 3,700 producer groups, and 200 agribusinesses, the new
program will work with over 250,000 participant farmers on three value chains:
high-value horticulture (including vegetables, fruits and flowers), cocoa, and
coffee. USAID is also providing additional support for agricultural development
in Papua, one of Indonesia’s least developed provinces. A new program there
will work to develop markets and value chains in the cocoa, fisheries, and
small livestock sectors.
Biotechnology and Improved Management
Practices–Biotechnology offers much-needed opportunities to increase yields
while decreasing labor and input costs for the farmer, including money spent on
pesticides and fertilizers. It offers great opportunities in particular for
poor farmers. One USAID-supported program is working to develop a
locally-adapted variety of Golden Rice, which will provide beta-carotene,
combating a micronutrient deficiency that often leads to blindness and other
health complications in rural areas. Another program is developing a potato
resistant to late blight.
Altogether, the adoption of biotechnology-enhanced
varieties and improved farming practices increases yields, improves farmer
incomes and livelihoods, and is better for the environment. Additionally, USAID
programs support and build the capacity of the Government of Indonesia’s
National Council on Biosafety, which regulates how biotechnology-enhanced crops
are introduced and grown in Indonesia.
Capacity Building: To fully
achieve its potential, Indonesia must build its cadre of trained professionals
in key areas, notably economics and agriculture. USAID programs establish vital
linkages between U.S. and Indonesian universities, and support the training of
dozens of Indonesia’s future economic and agronomic leaders each year in U.S.
land-grant universities. These students will return to Indonesia fully trained
in their professions and better equipped to steer Indonesia to a more
prosperous future
