Sustainable and inclusive rice-based food systems in Indonesia

Challenges

Indonesian farmers typically cultivate smaller plots, averaging around 0,5 ha and rely on traditional, low-input rice farming methods with limited mechanisation. The main priority is self-sufficiency: with rice as the main staple food, Indonesia has set its sights on halting rice imports by 2025, increasing domestic supply by 2027 and becoming a major global food supplier by 2045. Achieving these goals has led to an ambitious production target of 32 million tonnes by 2025—a 2.76% rise compared to the previous five-year average—and 61 million tonnes by 2045.

Despite this ambitious production target Indonesia continue to grapple with deep-rooted sustainability challenges in its rice sector. Over-reliance on chemical inputs, high production costs, and escalating climate risks threaten the resilience of rice farming and the livelihoods it supports. Traditional farming methods still dominate, with heavy dependence on consistent water supplies, chemical fertilisers, and pesticides – practices that degrade to soil, forcing farmers to increase fertiliser use, which in turn raises production costs and reduces net income.

Climate change further heightens vulnerabilities, with strong winds, erratic weather, and pest outbreaks jeopardising months of hard work. Smallholder farmers urgently require access to climate-resilient farming systems, but transitioning to sustainable practices is not straightforward. Farmers need technical support, financial backing, access to quality inputs and services, and reliable markets to make such a transition viable.

These challenges are also linked to broader systemic issues, such as the regeneration of future farmers and persistent gender inequalities. In Indonesia, the rice farming population is ageing, while youth are increasingly turning away from agriculture. Limited access to land and the perception that farming offers little financial return make it an unattractive option for the younger generation. At the same time, gender disparities remain a critical concern. Women play a central role in rice cultivation — from planting to harvesting — yet their influence over key decisions, both within households and farmer organisations, remains limited. Men often decide which rice varieties to grow and market, despite women shouldering much of the day-to-day labour.

Results

• Since 2022, more than 4,300 farmers - members of four cooperatives - have adopted the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) standard. As a result, they’ve seen their yields increase by 25%, while cutting greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 12.71 tons of CO₂ per hectare (2024 assessment). This progress is largely due to the adoption of SRP-recommended practices, including the Jajar Legowo double-row planting system. Yields have jumped from an average of 6 tons per hectare to 9–10 tons (national average of 5.2 tons per hectare). Meanwhile, emissions have dropped thanks to improved water management and a significant reduction in the use of chemical nitrogen — from an average of 1,000 kg/ha to just 400 kg/ha.
• In 2023, 125 women from the APPOLI and APOB cooperatives formed women's groups to produce rice crackers and instant rice, with a total of 16,000 kilos sold by the cooperative to the local market. They also diversified the cooperative's businesses by integrating the marketing of rice seeds, liquid bio-fertilisers, bio-pesticides and compost. 
• In 2023, Indonesia’s Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) National Working Group (NWG) was formed by a collaboration between Rikolto, Preferred by Nature and The People’s Coalition for Food Sovereignty (KRKP), as well as representatives of relevant private institutions, government and universities.
• In 2024 we piloted farmer field schools to promote the SRP standard on larger plots—over 30 hectares in each of the four cooperatives we have collaborated with since 2022.
• In 2024, we launched a new partnership with the Livelihoods Fund, Sinar AgroSolusi (SAS), and three cooperatives in East Java, involving 750 farmers in the application of regenerative agricultural practices. The focus is ontesting an intercropping model between rice and food crops (blacksoybeans, chilies) as well as perennials (lemon, dragon fruit) on more than 1,000 hectares.