Agriculture and food in Indonesia

Agriculture in Indonesia

Indonesia – located in southeastern Asia - is made up of 17,000 of islands. It is home to over 277 million people, making it the world’s fourth most populous country. Indonesia is extending 5,120 kilometers from east to west and 1,760 kilometers from north to south. There are five main islands (Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Irian Jaya), two major archipelagos (Nusa Tenggara and the Maluku Islands), and sixty smaller archipelagos. Indonesia's total land area is 1,919,317 square kilometers. Included in Indonesia's total territory is another 93,000 square kilometers of inlands seas (straits, bays, and other bodies of water). The additional surrounding sea areas bring Indonesia's generally recognized territory (land and sea) to about 5 million square kilometers.

Lying on both sides of the equator, Indonesia is a tropical country with two main seasons: wet and dry. On average there are two harvests annually, but in some irrigated areas it is possible to produce three crops per year. Agriculture is one of the key sectors within the Indonesian economy. In 2020, the share of agriculture in Indonesia's gross domestic product was around 13.7 percent, industry contributed approximately 38.26 percent and the services sector contributed about 44.4 percent. Agricultural land (% of land area) in Indonesia was reported at 33.18 % in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. In 2020, approximately 38.22 million people were employed in the agricultural, forestry, hunting, and fisheries sector. This was the largest sector for employment in Indonesia in that year. The majority of those involved in agriculture are smallholder farmers, generally working an area of land of less than one hectare and typically involved in horticulture and growing rice and maize. About 15 percent of the total agricultural area is given over to large plantations which cultivate crops for export. It should be underlined that fewer young people are pursuing farming as a profession compared with previous generations. Only 23 percent of the country’s 14.2 million people aged between 15 and 24 worked in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors in 2019, data from the National Labor Force Survey showed.

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Agriculture production in Indonesia

The country is rich in biodiversity, and generates a wide range of crops and agricultural products, including: rice, sugarcane, maize, cassava, tropical fruits, palm oil, palm kernel, rubber, cocoa, tea, tobacco and a variety of spices. Nonetheless, Indonesia is a net importer of grains, fruit and vegetables, and livestock produce.

Indonesia agricultural imports reached over $19 billion in 2020.  Wheat, soybeans, rice, beef, fresh fruits, dairy and various feed ingredients were leading import categories. The U.S., China, Brazil, Australia and Argentina are the top five suppliers of agricultural products to the market, representing 57 percent of the total imports by value.

Indonesian agricultural exports reached 451.8 trillion rupiah ($32.23 billion). Palm oil output in 2020 was at 48.3 million tonnes, sugar output at 2.13 million tonnes and 2020 natural rubber output at 2.88 million tonnes. Coffee, vegetables, betel nuts, coconuts, guavas, mangos, mangosteens, clove and pepper were other main agricultural goods the country exported.

Industrial scale export commodities such as palm oil and rubber, are mainly supplied by large plantations, while the small scale farmers focus on horticultural commodities such as rice, corn, soybeans, Mango, fruits and vegetables in order to meet the food consumption of the local and regional population.

Currently, Indonesia is the world's largest producer of palm oil, cloves and cinnamon, the 2nd largest producer of nutmeg natural rubber also cassava and vanilla.

Indonesia has huge water resource that is beneficial for the development of agricultural sector, especially for rice production. Indonesia is the world’s third-largest rice producer and also one of the world’s biggest rice consumers. Rice is grown by approximately 77% of all farmers in the country under predominantly subsistence conditions. The average farm size is less than 1 ha, with the majority of the farmers cultivating landholdings of 0.1–0.5 ha. Rice production is heavily concentrated on the islands of Java and Sumatra; nearly 60% of total production emanates from Java alone. Rice is cultivated in both lowlands and uplands throughout Indonesia, with the upland crop typically being rainfed and receiving only low amounts of fertilizer. Irrigated lowland rice is both well watered and heavily fertilized. In 2020, approximately 55.16 million tons of paddy were produced in Indonesia. Indonesia is one of the world's leading rice producers and rice is the staple food for most Indonesians.

Indonesia, along with its neighbouring country Malaysia, dominates in palm oil cultivation. Together, they represent 85-90 per cent of global palm oil production, and the demand is still increasing—driven by increased global demand and higher yields. Indonesia’s palm oil output is mostly exported to destinations such as China, Pakistan, Malaysia, India, and the Netherlands. In 2020, indonesian production of this commodity amounted to around 48.3 million metric tons. Palm oil is one of Indonesia’s largest agricultural export commodities, and large swathes of land are cleared each year for palm oil plantations. Indonesian palm oil estates fall under three categories: large private plantations, smallholders, and state-owned. Most of the oil palm plantations were located in three areas: Riau, Kalimantan, and Sumatera. Unsurprisingly, these provinces account for most of the production of palm oil as well.

In 2020, approximately 2.88 million metric tons of rubber were produced in Indonesia. Around 85 percent of Indonesia's rubber production is exported. Almost half of export is shipped to other Asian countries, followed by North America and Europe.Rubber plantations in Indonesia are scattered in 27 provinces from Aceh to Papua.  South Sumatra is the province that holds the largest rubber plantation area of ​​812.57 thousand hectares or 22.85%, followed by North Sumatra (472.14 thousand), Jambi (384.78 thousand), Riau (356.24 thousand) and West Kalimantan (350.75 thousand). The rubber tree needs constant high temperatures (26-32 degrees Celsius) and a wet environment in order to be most productive. It takes seven years for a rubber tree to reach a productive age. Hereafter, it can produce up to 25 years. Compared to its rubber producing competitors, Indonesia contains a low level of productivity per hectare. This is in large part due to the overall older age of its rubber trees in combination with low investment capability of the smallholder farmers, hence reducing yields. Whereas Thailand produces 1,800 kilogram (kg) of rubber per hectare per year, Indonesia only manages to produce 1,080 kg/ha.

Clove (Syzigium aromaticum. L) is one of the strategic commodities whose plantations are managed by many people in Indonesia and contribute to the Indonesian economy. The clove plant itself comes from the Maluku region, which is one of the spice-producing regions and clove itself, which is one of the important commodities in the economy in Indonesia.

Clove plants (Syzygium aromaticum. L) are also one of the producers of essential oils. Clove oil as a commodity that has great potential in Indonesia. Clove plants can produce three types of essential oils, including clove oil, clove stalk oil and clove leaf oil. The broad trends Indonesian clove production and the production tends to increase every year. Clove production in Indonesia is currently estimated at around 120,000-130,000 tons per year, resulting from around 330,000 ha of produce. Thus the productivity of clove plants ranges from 400-450kg / ha. The vast preponderance of Indonesia’s annual clove harvest, around 90%, is purchasedeach year by the Indonesian tobacco industry to produce kreteks.

In 2019 Indonesia shipped 36,765 tonnes of cinnamon. Most Indonesian cinnamon farmers grow their trees on small, remote parcels of land (known as bidangs) alongside other native species like surian, jati and malaku. The botanical name, Cinnamomum, derives from the Hebraic and Arabic term “amomon”, meaning “fragrant spice plant”.  Some types of cinnamon are also referred to as “cassia”.  Cinnamon goes by many names in different languages such as ròuguì (Chinese), dalchini (Hindi), canela (Spanish), cannelle (French), qarfa (Arabic), and zimt (German). Cinnamon is produced by selectively pruning young Cinnamomum sp. evergreen tree branches after about 2-3 years of growth.  After cutting, new branches will regenerate and a typical tree can be harvested for about 40-50 years .  

In addition to cinnamon and cloves, Indonesia is also grown other spices like: lada hitam (black pepper), kunyit (turmeric), sereh (lemongrass), salam koja (curry leaf), bawang merah (shallot), kemiri (candlenut), ketumbar (coriander), and asam jawa (tamarind) jahe (ginger), daun bawang (scallions) and bawang putih (garlic)

Indonesia possesses a variety of horticultural products. Its native fruits include durian, mangosteen, rambutan, salak, banana, jackfruit, mango, kedondong, jambu air, buni, jamblang and kecapi. The bulk of fruits and vegetables needed by consumers are supplied by local traditional farmers. Although local production is still insufficient to meet domestic demand. As a result, the prices of Indonesian horticultural produce often fluctuate and soar as demand goes up or when suppliers produce less making for an unstable, unpredictable market. That is one of the reasons why fruits and vegetables are often imported from Thailand, China, and the United States. Imported fruits from Thailand include lychees and durians. China mainly exports citrus fruits and pears, while the United States exports grapes and apples.

Livestock in Indonesia

Livestock production in Indonesia is one part of a broader set of small-scale integrated farming systems. Animal feed is comprised not only of forage and crop residues but also additional feeds such as rice bran, cassava starch, wheat pollard, or coconut meal , generally fed without concentrates. Most husbandry activities are rudimentary , and small land parcels are employed for the diverseenterprises of crop, fodder, livestock, and household activities.

The cattle population in Indonesia is currently about 16.6 million head , of which 43% is in Java Island, 25% is in the Eastern Islands, and the remaining 32% is on other islands spread around Indonesia. Domestic production can only satisfy about 45% of Indonesian demand for beef. In 2019, the pig production in Indonesia amounted to approximately 8.9 million heads. Although more than 80 percent of the Indonesian population are Muslims, pigs are considered important livestock especially in the eastern part of Indonesia such as Nusa Tenggara, Bali, South Sulawesi, and Papua provinces.

Poultry is an important source of income for poor households in Indonesia and can be an important source of livelihoods in rural areas, both in terms of income and employment. Poultry is also an important source of protein. In a normal year, Indonesian farmers produce approximately 1.285 million tons of poultry meat, representing 62 percent of total domestic meat production. This is supplemented by the production of 1.2 million tons of eggs. Indonesia has around 91 million hectares of forested land, which constitutes to 53% of the total land area. Indonesia has three categories of forest land: Conservation Forests, Protection Forests, and Production Forests. More than half of the Indonesian forest area is production forest and 87% is owned by the State.

Timber industry in Indonesia

Indonesia is one of the world’s largest exporters of tropical timber products. It exports a wide variety of timber products, ranging from plywood, pulp and paper to furniture and handicrafts. Commonly harvested species for the timber industry include Meranti, Keruing, Kapur, Mersawa and Teak (from plantations). The product that is most exported is plywood, followed by sawnwood, industrial roundwood and, in less proportion, veneer.

Fishieries and seafood in Indonesia

Fishieries is very important in Indonesia. The country’s waters support over 3,000 species of bony fishes and more than 850 sharks, rays, and chimaeras. The fisheries industry employs about 12 million Indonesians.

Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of seafood products, with a total export turnover of 5.2 billion USD in 2020, of which 4.84 billion USD came from fish consumption.

Being in the tropics, catches are multispecies in nature comprising demersal and pelagic species, such as: snappers, groupers, sweetlips, mackerels, scads, anchovies, tunas (mostly skipjack, yellowfin, bigeye), penaeid shrimp, squids, and others.

Most catches are landed in fishing ports. Only a small share of the catch is landed in public commercial ports that do not have facilities for fishing vessels. There are six large fishing ports, 14 located in Java (Jakarta and Cilacap), two in Sumatra (Belawan and Bungus), one in North Sulawesi (Bitung) and the other in Southeast Sulawesi (Kendari). In addition there are 13 medium-sized fishing ports, while the remaining two fishing ports are small.

Inland capture fisheries take place in lakes, reservoirs and rivers. Fishermen use traditional gears such as hand line, cast net, trap and gillnet. Unlike in marine capture fisheries, no industrial activity has developed in inland capture fisheries.

Aquaculture in freshwater bodies has occurred for ages, especially in Java where the culture of carp (Cyprinus carpio), tilapia (Tilapia nilotica) and gouramy (Osphronemus goramy) is common. In brackish water, culture of milk fish (Chanos chanos) is popular on the north coast of Java, in particular in the north coast of east Java.