Agriculture Ministry Acquires UGM Innovations Worth IDR 40 Billion to Curb Food Imports
The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) has purchased innovations from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) worth approximately IDR 40 billion to accelerate the development of strategic commodities while reducing Indonesia’s dependence on food imports. The collaboration covers five to six commodities, including soybeans, garlic, cocoa, fertiliser, and dairy cattle development.
Minister of Agriculture Andi Amran Sulaiman stated that the purchase is a government follow-up on university research deemed ready for field application. According to him, the Ministry will oversee the implementation of these innovations, including large-scale field testing of soybean and garlic varieties.
“We followed up immediately, not with an MoU but by directly purchasing the works of the nation’s best talents at UGM. We bought them directly and will then oversee them together. Testing up to 1,000 hectares, 2,000 hectares for soybeans, and likewise for garlic, we will supervise together. This is very good, this collaboration is very good,” Amran said in Jakarta on Monday (29/6/2026).
Amran explained that the government sees significant potential in UGM’s research to boost national agricultural sector productivity. Therefore, synergy between universities, the government as regulator, and business entities is considered crucial to accelerate innovation commercialisation.
“If we want to leap exponentially, there must be collaboration between universities and the government as regulator, as well as with entrepreneurs, in this case state-owned enterprises. God willing, we will strengthen this going forward,” he said.
One focus of the collaboration is the development of a soybean variety from UGM’s research with a productivity of around three tonnes per hectare. The Ministry will commence trials on 2,000 hectares of land in Central Java, with all costs borne by the government.
According to Amran, the soybean variety has the advantage of being non-genetically modified organism (non-GMO) with larger seed size compared to imported soybeans.
“This quality is better because it is non-GMO. Moreover, it is local soy, but the grains are larger than imports. So I immediately asked UGM, the plan was for a capacity of 1,000 hectares, but I requested if possible 2,000 hectares, and the cost will be from the Ministry of Agriculture,” he said.
The government will evaluate the trial results before expanding the planting area. If the results meet expectations, soybean development will be increased to reach 100,000 hectares as part of the strategy to curb imports.
Besides soybeans and garlic, the cooperation between the Ministry and UGM also includes the development of cocoa, Potassium Humate fertiliser derived from coal, as well as Gama Gagah and Maco dairy cattle. The government is also preparing a commercialisation programme for several leading commodities such as coconut, nutmeg, coffee, cocoa, cashew, and sugarcane to increase the added value of Indonesian agricultural products.
Amran added that the collaboration model with universities will continue to be expanded. Previously, the Ministry had also purchased seeds from IPB’s research worth around IDR 250 billion as part of efforts to strengthen innovation in the agricultural sector.