Bapanas Chief: Farmers' Terms of Trade Improve, Reinforcing Food Security
The Head of the National Food Agency, who is also the Minister of Agriculture, Andi Amran Sulaiman, has affirmed that the increase in the Farmers’ Terms of Trade for the food crops sub-sector (NTPP) indicates improving farmer welfare, which must be maintained through government policy. Amran stated in Jakarta on Thursday that the government must always position itself between farmers and downstream consumers. The interests of food farmers must be protected as they are the front line in safeguarding food security. “We must be in the middle; we have to look after 115 million farmers, and consumers must also be happy. We must protect the price of farmers’ unhusked rice, especially as our brothers and sisters are the last bastion of our food defence,” said Amran.
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded that the national development of the Farmers’ Terms of Trade (NTP) up to June 2026 continued to show positive progress. BPS revealed that the projection for Indonesian rice production up to August 2026 had increased. This is linear with the NTP for the food crops sub-sector (NTPP) in June 2026, which was also higher. “Rice production from January to August 2026 is estimated to reach 25.28 million tonnes, an increase of 0.01 million tonnes or 0.05 percent compared to the same period in 2025,” said BPS Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics Ateng Hartono in Jakarta on Wednesday (1/7).
This production increase runs parallel with improving farmer welfare. BPS recorded the June 2026 NTPP at 114.65, the highest throughout 2026 and the highest since March 2024. “Of the NTP sub-sectors, only the food crops sub-sector experienced an NTP increase in June,” Ateng added. The NTPP rise was influenced by an increase in the index of prices received by farmers, particularly in the paddy group, which rose by 1.13 percent, and the secondary crops group (maize and cassava), which increased by 1.05 percent. Furthermore, the index of prices received by paddy farmers up to June 2026 was recorded at 149.65, the highest in the last seven years.
As a concrete strategy to maintain farmers’ prices, Amran continued, the government has assigned Perum Bulog to absorb the rice equivalent sourced from domestic production. The target is at least 4 million tonnes by the end of 2026. The massive absorption of domestic rice equivalent is well-founded due to a significant production surplus over consumption. BPS data projects rice production from January to June could reach 19.27 million tonnes, while rice consumption needs for the same period are estimated at 15.48 million tonnes, resulting in a surplus of 3.79 million tonnes. Meanwhile, Bapanas also recorded that the realisation of rice equivalent absorption by Perum Bulog up to the end of June 2026 had reached 3.3 million tonnes. This achievement surpassed Bulog’s rice absorption realisation in the January-June 2025 period, which stood at 2.68 million tonnes, an increase of 23.1 percent, and is confirmed to be entirely rice harvested by Indonesian farmers.
As a result, Amran continued, the price of dry harvested unhusked rice (GKP) at the farm level can be well maintained during a period of abundant supply. This is reflected in the results of the national GKP price monitoring conducted by Bapanas. As of 1 July 2026, the national average GKP at the farm level stood at Rp6,989 per kilogramme (kg). This figure increased by 0.14 percent compared to a month earlier, when the average price was Rp6,979 per kg, and strengthened by 3.74 percent compared to a year earlier, when it was Rp6,737 per kg.