National Farmers’ Day in Indonesia Date in the current year: September 24, 2024

Agriculture is a key sector of the economy of Indonesia. Although its share in the national gross domestic product (GDP) has decreased over the years, due to the development of industry and service sector, farming remains a vital source of income for many Indonesian households.

Agriculture contributes approximately 13% to the GDP of Indonesia and employs about a third of the total workforce. About 30% of the country’s land area is used for agricultural purposes. The agricultural sector of Indonesia is regulated and supervised by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Indonesian agricultural sector consists of large plantations, which can be state or corporate owned, and smallholder farming households. Large plantations mainly supply palm oil, rubber, and other export commodities, while small family-owned farms focus on producing agricultural products for internal consumption such as rice, soybeans, corn, vegetables, fruit, etc.

Due to its tropical climate with abundant rain and sunshine throughout the year, Indonesia is able to produce an impressive variety of crops, including rice, maize, sugar cane, coconut, cassava, sweet potato, oil palms, rubber trees, cocoa, coffee, tobacco, tea, cloves, pepper, various fruits and vegetables, etc. Indonesia’s native fruits include banana, durian, jackfruit, jambolan, Java apple, June plum, mango, mangosteen, rambutan, salak, and santol.

Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of palm oil, cloves and cinnamon, the second largest producer of nutmeg, natural rubber, cassava, vanilla and coconut oil, the third largest producer of rice and cocoa, the fourth largest producer of chili pepper, coffee, mango and avocado, the fifth largest producer of tobacco, pineapple, banana and papaya, and the sixth largest producer of sweet potato and tea. Although Indonesia is one of the largest rice producers, it doesn’t export rice because it is a staple food in the Indonesian diet.

Indonesian livestock farming is less developed; however, Indonesian farmers raise cattle (beef and dairy cows, as well as buffaloes used as draft animals), goats, sheep and chicken. Non-Muslim farmers may also breed pigs. The production of seafood also plays an important role in Indonesian agriculture. In 2015, for example, the total production of seafood amounted to over 22 million metric tons.

The government of Indonesia established National Farmers’ Day to highlight the contribution of the agricultural sector and farmers to the development of the country’s economy. Sadly, it also serves as a sad reminder of the issues in the agricultural sector such as low income of small-scale farmers and environmental issues, for example, deforestation caused by logging industry and forest and plantation fires resulting from slash-and-burn practices.