This year, good agricultural practices (GAP) have become more accessible as a number of NGOs have created training, research, financing and even off-taking initiatives for cacao, coffee and rubber farmers.
Indonesia is the second-largest producer and exporter of rubber and the fourth-largest producer of coffee and cocoa globally. The three commodities combined comprised about US$1.88 billion of the country’s total exports.
The commodities are mostly produced by smallholder famers. According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), these farmers make up 84.4 percent, 95.9 percent and 97.6 percent of rubber, coffee and cocoa producers, respectively.
Due to the prevalence of smallholders, implementing GAP on a local level is crucial to improving commodities productivity.
Coffee farmers, for example, have received agroforestry training to develop better farming techniques and apply more sustainable business practices.
Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia (SCAI) advisory board chairwoman Delima Darmawan said that the productivity of Indonesia’s coffee plantations was lower than other major producers such as Brazil and Vietnam because the coffee plantations in the country continued to use traditional farming methods.
“Most farmers were uninformed about GAP. They used to fear their trees would not bear coffee cherries after pruning,” said Sustainable Coffee Platform of Indonesia (SCOPI) executive director Veronica Herlina.
She said GAP was costlier and more energy consuming but farmers were willing to learn, especially with good guidance and introductions to coffee bean buyers.
Indonesian coffee accounts for about 7 percent of global production. BPS estimates about 729,074 tons were produced in the country this year. From January to October, the country exported 448,571 tons worth $1.2 billion, according to the Union of Indonesian Coffee Exporters’ Associations (GAEKI).
According to the International Coffee Organization, Indonesia’s production declined by 5.6 percent in March 2019 as some major producing regions such as Lampung and Bengkulu were suffering from drought.
Production decline is also seen in the country’s cocoa production. According to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), Indonesia’s cacao bean production fell from 410,000 tons in 2013 to an estimated 240,000 tons in 2018. This year, the production is expected to remain at the same level as last year.
The report also revealed that Indonesia, which used to be the third-largest cacao bean producer, is now in fourth place, behind Ivory Coast (2 million tons), Ghana (969,000 tons) and Ecuador (290,000 tons).
To help boost productivity, the Indonesian Cacao Board (Dekaindo) said that the Indonesia Coffee and Cocoa Research Center (Puslitkoka) had been training farmers to produce cacao in ways that accounted for climate change.
“Puslitkoka has a training center where farmers come to learn about producing seedlings that will grow well in their respective regions and local climates,” Dekaindo chairman Dwiatmoko Setiono told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
The nation is still the third-largest exporter of cacao byproducts such as cacao powder and cocoa butter, with 365,583 tons exported worth $1.2 billion in 2018.
Rubber and rubber products exports fell 6.35 percent to $5.6 million through January to November 2019 from $5.9 million over the same period last year.
An outbreak of Leptosphaeria leaf spot (Pestalotiopsis spp) has hit many rubber plantations and decreased their productivity. Agriculture Ministry Plantation Director General Kasdi Subagyono said the plant disease had affected at least 382,000 hectares of rubber plantations in the country.
The disease caused national rubber production to decline from 3.76 million tons last year to about 3.19 million tons this year.
According to Widyantoko Sumarlin, a senior executive at the Indonesian Rubber Producers Association (Gapkindo), additional farm extension services are needed to help smallholders increase the yield of their plantations through best farming practices.
The Sustainable Trade Initiative Indonesia Foundation (Yayasan IDH) has been working with companies to train producers of rubber, among other commodities, to adopt good agricultural practices.
Through Yayasan IDH, the Netherland-based “Andgreen” fund invested $23.5 million in PT Royal Lestari Utama (RLU) with 50:50 approach on production and protection. The fund will finance the development of three sustainable rubber concessions in Jambi and East Kalimantan.
“The projects can increase farmers’ productivity, which will support the supply chain. The cooperation with farmers will also increase their mutual trust and simultaneously reduce the risk of social conflict,” said the foundation’s Indonesia chairman, Fitrian Ardiansyah.
Yayasan IDH has provided 30 percent of the financing while private companies have contributed 70 percent. The role of private companies is important as off-takers to ensure that farmers have channels to buyers.
Institute for the Development of Economics and Finance (Indef) researcher Rusli Abdullah said training initiatives from the private sector could significantly help the government’s efforts to boost GAP among farmers.
“Most of Indonesia’s farmers have yet to implement sustainable farming […] Private off-takers could insist on good agricultural practices and sustainable farming requirements so farmers will comply,” he said.
According to BPS, agricultural exports increased by 3.50 percent year on year and comprised 2.12 percent of total exports from January to November. Agriculture, forestry and fishery comprised 13.45 percent of Indonesia’s GDP in the third quarter of 2019 — Rp. 4.06 trillion ($291.50 million).
Source The Jakarta Post