News & Insights

The journey to nutritious and healthy food begins with how raw food is cultivated and treated. Organic farming offers an appealing alternative; however, synthetic pesticides are still the mainstream practice among Indonesian farmers. Rikolto partnered with YLKI and PIKAT to conduct pesticide residue lab tests on fresh vegetables in Denpasar, providing valuable insights into the safety and quality of the vegetables in the city.

One of the approaches that Rikolto promotes in our sustainable production strategy is the practice of regenerative agriculture. In this article, we share insights from Pasar Rakyat Bali, our Food Smart Cities partner that has been putting regenerative farming into action.

We are proud to be featured in the EU-Indonesia cooperation annual publication. This year, Rikolto shares stories from our sustainable rice programme in Central Java and how we support the adaptation of digital platforms and emerging technologies for a more inclusive and sustainable food system.

Young people are the future of food security, but unfortunately, the lack of attractive job opportunities and support drove young people away from agriculture. In the Polewali Mandar Regency of West Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, Rikolto sought to spark young people's interest in agriculture through digital-based farming and agripreneurship.

In our recent partnership project, we work with smallholder farmers in Central Java Province in Indonesia to introduce sustainable rice cultivation and improve their livelihoods.

By 2050, the global population is projected to exceed 9.6 billion (FAO). To keep up with the ever-growing population, we must address inequalities between women and men in food and agriculture. At Rikolto, we have been empowering women to have better access to resources and opportunities across our programmes. Get inspired by some stories and insights from our programmes in Indonesia.

Mid-September, a container with 15.9 ton of Indonesian specialty coffee arrived in the port of Antwerp. Thanks to an ingenious business model, this coffee also contributes to the restoration of the Indonesian rain forest on the island of Sumatra.

In 2012, Triyono sold vegetables and chickens for his income. Now, he is the Chairman of the Barokah Cooperative, an award-winning coffee farmers' organization with 320 members in Kerinci, Jambi Province, Indonesia.

Rikolto’s cooperative partners in Jambi, Barokah and TAKTIK, received an achievement award from the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture for their commitment in developing downstream business activities. This award marks an important milestone for the cooperatives on their journey to build sustainable value chains.

Between March and August 2019, three journalists from the digital platform Eos Tracé visited partner cities of Rikolto's Food Smart Cities programme. This book tells their stories from 9 cities in Vietnam, Belgium, Tanzania, Indonesia, Ecuador, Honduras and Nicaragua.

The Government of Indonesia has pledged to end hunger in all its forms and achieve food security to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)- 2 targets by 2030. Concerted efforts to ensure fair and better access to food while promoting sustainable agriculture are central to achieve it, in which Rikolto in Indonesia takes part through Food Smart Cities programme.

Chips, candies, and sugary drinks are food and drinks served most at school canteens in Solo. However, changes are afoot to provide students with healthier meals during their school days. This is the third of four stories documented through Food Smart City Communication Learning Cycle activities, 8-12 July 2019.

Coffee is a serious business in Toraja of South Sulawesi. With a long-standing history of coffee growing and producing, Toraja has witnessed how coffee businesses empower farmers, including women and youth. We are glad to say that Rikolto contributes to the coffee sector transformation. Read more to see what we have harvested so far.

Koerintji Barokah Bersama Cooperative, Rikolto’s coffee partner in Jambi, Indonesia, is set to export 15.6 tons of Arabica coffee beans to Belgium. The export could take place due to the collaboration between government institutions, private sectors, NGOs, financial institution, cooperative, and coffee farmers.

Koerintji Barokah Bersama Cooperative, Rikolto’s coffee partner in Jambi, is set to export 15.6 tons of Arabica coffee beans to Belgium.

In the context of rapidly-growing cities, urban farming helps city residents cultivate limited, vacant lots to produce food for subsistence, and increase their access to fresh produce. This is the second of four stories documented through Food Smart City Communication Learning Cycle activities, 8-12 July 2019.

In Solo City of Central Java, a group of passionate citizens and hoteliers take more sustainable moves to reduce food waste, while helping people connect better with each other. This is the first of four documented stories of Food Smart City Communication Learning Cycle activities, 8-12 July 2019.

Rikolto's Cocoa Manager Peni Agustijanto shares his experience in facilitating the business model canvas training for farmer organisations and village-owned enterprises (BUMDes) in West Sulawesi. Read his story.

School canteen plays an important role in providing children with nutritious food, while promoting a healthier food consumption. Food Smart Cities consortium in Indonesia conducted an observation in 12 school canteens in the cities of Depok and Solo to investigate food procurement practices in school canteens.

Seaweed cultivation has a potential to improve the livelihood of rural communities living in coastal areas of East Nusa Tenggara Province. Seaweed Coordinator of Rikolto in Indonesia, Ziaul Haq, shares some progress and challenges to make this happen.

West Sulawesi's ambition to increase cocoa production has been hampered by a failure to attract young farmers to the sector and replace ageing cocoa trees. Working with Amanah Cooperative and Village-Owned Enterprise (BUMDes), Rikolto is creating an enabling environment for millennials inclusion in the sector.

Proper drying and fermentation of cocoa beans post harvest is necessary to produce a high quality chocolate. In Food for Thought, Romeo Cooperative shares a lesson to improve quality control processes in building a fermented cocoa business.

Developing a specialty coffee business is not a smooth ride, as shared by our partner Koerintji Barokah Bersama Cooperative (Barokah) in the 13th edition of Food for Thought.

In Sikka District of East Nusa Tenggara Province, farmers are, slowly yet steady, back into seaweed farming.

Affected by a changing climate, cocoa farmers in Ende, East Nusa Tenggara shift to intercropping to sustain their livelihood sources.

Rikolto and its partners held the Healthy School Snacks Festival in Solo, seeking to educate and inform schools, parents and public to make healthier food choices.

Cocoa certification brought bittersweet challenges for Sulawesi cocoa farmers. How did they overcome these?

Youth-led collaborative space is making headway in Ende, East Nusa Tenggara, where cocoa farming is in dire need of young blood.

Rikolto and Akvo held a knowledge exchange session in Bali, on Friday (26/4), that brought together NGOs, researchers and agri-tech companies to discuss opportunities and challenges to ensure that data brings value to smallholder farmers.

In Central Java Province, Rikolto with the Premium Rice Consortium funded by the Netherlands' FDOV established a public private partnership to improve farmers' income by strengthening the role of farmer group association so they can take an active part in premium rice value chains.