Government prepares 280 million cocoa and coconut seedlings for plantations
The government is preparing approximately 280 million cocoa and coconut seedlings nationwide to strengthen the development of the national plantation sector and increase farmer prosperity. This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture and Head of the National Food Agency, Andi Amran Sulaiman, in Jakarta on Monday.
He noted that the provision of these superior seedlings is part of a major government programme to accelerate the development of strategic plantation commodities, which hold high potential to support both regional and national economic growth. He made these remarks during an unannounced inspection of a coconut and cocoa nursery in Lamomea Village, Konda District, South Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, on Saturday.
Currently, the government is developing around 870,000 hectares of plantation land covering various leading commodities, including cocoa, coconut, sugarcane, nutmeg, and cashew, spread across various regions of Indonesia. He emphasised that all developed commodities have great prospects due to the increasing demand from both domestic and international markets, particularly for high-value-added processed products.
In addition to expanding planting areas, the government is preparing various supports to ensure plantation yields can serve as raw materials for domestic industry through a sustainable and integrated downstreaming programme. According to the Minister, the downstreaming of commodities such as coconut, cocoa, and cashew is a strategic step to increase the economic value of agricultural products while strengthening Indonesia’s competitiveness in the global market.
The government also ensures that all assistance provided to farmers is sourced from the state budget and must be precisely targeted so that the benefits are truly felt by communities on the ground. He emphasised that all assistance is provided free of charge to farmers, ranging from the provision of superior seedlings and land preparation to the planting process, ensuring that programme beneficiaries are not burdened by costs.
He stated that this policy is a form of government support for farmers, enabling them to increase production without being hindered by the initial costs that have often been an obstacle to business development. Furthermore, Amran hopes that the plantation development and downstreaming programme can create at least three million permanent jobs over the next three years and drive sustainable economic growth.
He added that the millions of coconut and cocoa seedlings prepared in Southeast Sulawesi are part of a national plantation development programme aimed at supporting the downstreaming of strategic commodities. Previously, the Ministry of Agriculture has been accelerating the downstreaming of the national plantation sub-sector to increase commodity value-add and farmer welfare. Through the development programme of seven strategic commodities—namely cocoa, coconut, sugarcane, coffee, nutmeg, cashew, and candlenut—the government has allocated a budget of Rp9.5 trillion, targeting the development of 870,000 hectares of smallholder plantations for the 2025–2027 period to strengthen industrial raw material supplies and create sustainable employment.