News & Insights

From 2008, the program strategy of VECO Indonesia and its partners focused on sustainable agriculture chain development. The focus in Flores is three-fold: the coffee chains in Manggarai, Ngada and Ende; the rice chain in Mbay, Nagekeo; and the cocoa chains in Ende, Sikka and East Flores.

Rain should be a blessing to farmers. But not for I Wayan Asih, a small farmer in Bali, Indonesia. Excessive rainfall has damaged around 1,000 m2 of his chilli pepper crop.

Iddin Rasit now gets a higher price for his cocoa. In the past, he used to sell cocoa, his main commodity, for IDR 7,000-IDR 8,000 wet. But two years on, this farmer in Pongo village, in the Masamba subdistrict of Luwu Utara district, South Sulawesi can get up to IDR 13,500/kg.

Last November 11-13, 2013, Cocoa farmers in Polewali Mandar (Polman), West Sulawesi, organized a Sustainable Cocoa Festival at Pussui Village, Sub District Luyo. The festival served as a space where farmers can share their knowledge and experience as well as inform stakeholders on issues related to cocoa.

Jacob Tanda received a Heroes for Indonesia award on Heroes’ Day, 10 November. Head of Mbatakapidu Village, Kota Waingapu District, East Sumba, West Nusa Tenggara Timur, Jacob was one of ten winners of this award, according to MNC, Indonesia’s largest TV network.

In addition to improvement in the standard of living of small farmers, sustainable agriculture also helps restore biodiversity. The shift towards sustainable agriculture in the production of rice including by employing System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) often recovers organism living in the ecosystem of farming area such as insects, amphibians, and fishes.

Early May, Aliansi Petani Padi Organik Boyolali (APPOLI) successfully exported certified organic rice to Belgium. Following this first export of rice from APPOLI, another is scheduled to Germany at the end of July 2013, after which APPOLI will export to several other countries.

Amanah farmer cooperative association held its annual general meeting (AGM) last week in Polewali Mandar (Polman), West Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Members of Asosiasi Petani Organik Boyolali (APOB) take part in farmers field school. With facilitator Sutoyo, around 15 men and women farmers are planning to create an experimental plot for field school practice.

The International Labor Organization (ILO), Agriterra and VECO Indonesia ran a training for trainers (Tot) for farmer cooperatives on 25-28 February, in Denpasar, Bali. Attending the training were 20 participants from farmer organisations, farmer cooperatives, VECO Indonesia, and local government cooperative agencies.

The Healthy Food Healthy Living (HFHL) team used Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to campaign healthy food.

After almost a year of trying, Boyolali rice farmers have finally got organic certification. The organic certificate for members of Asosiasi Petani Padi Organik Boyolali (Appoli) was issued by the Institute of Marketecology (IMO), a certification agency headquartered in Switzerland. The certificate is valid from 13 December 2012 to 31 March 2013.

Two farmer groups that are VECO Indonesia partners in Boyolali, Central Java and Polewali Mandar (Polman), West Sulawesi, apply internal control systems (ICS). These two groups are Asosiasi Petani Padi Organik Boyolali (Appoli) and Kelompok Tani Amanah in Polman.