Government, NGOs, Private Setor Pursuing Sustainable Agriculture in Indonesia
Several organizations, including NGOs, farmers‟ unions and corporate houses, and the government are currently working on numerous projects involving sustainable agriculture across Indonesia.
"The Yayasan Mitra Tani Mandiri, which won the Equator Prize in 2010, works with over 40 villages in East Nusa Tenggara to produce sustainable agricultural systems including land, water and organic farming."
"VECO-Indonesia is working all across Indonesia to promote the use of innovative sustainable agricultural practices that benefit small farmers and provide them improved access to markets."
"A project in East Nusa Tenggara trains corn farmers in the sustainable use of water, with the aim of increasing their income."
"An NGO local to the province, Lembaga Pusat Pelatihan Pertanian Dan Pedesaan Swadaya “Mardika” (Institute for Rural and Agricultural Training) runs a rural development program in impoverished areas."
"The government has subsidized certification costs, estimating the number to increase by almost 50% every year. Under its „Go Organic 2010‟ mission, in 2010, the Indonesian government decided to give a USD 1.26 billion subsidy for production of 11.76 million tons of organic fertilizer. For 2011, the government has allocated USD 37.8 million to provide organic fertilizer processing units to farmers."
"The government slashed subsidies on chemical fertilizers by 35%."
"In 2010, Indonesia launched the „Indonesia National Indicator for Cocoa Sustainability‟ certification and in 2011 it plans to launch an „Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil‟ standard,"
The growing demand for organic produce and the growing impacts of climate change, in addition to the push towards organic farming from the government and sustainable agriculture projects run by NGOs and other organizations are likely to give this trend sufficient traction to expand over the next decade. However, an impediment could be the time it takes to cultivate a local market for organic food. There are chances that the farmers will not take to organic farming very easily, unless it is supported by appropriate initiatives from private companies and NGOs as well as the government.
Implications from IFTF
see related signal
Sources:SFG June 2011, page 10: