Marginal Land for Potential Commodities

By 2026, the national poverty rate will show a downward trend compared to previous years, but the gap between rural and urban areas remains quite wide. Rural poverty remains almost twice as high as urban poverty. In regions dominated by dry land such as Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT), the poverty rate is still considered high, with the proportion of rural poverty consistently larger than the national average. Poverty in Indonesia today is no longer solely about a lack of resources, but often about the inappropriateness of strategies in utilising them. Indonesia has around 143 million hectares of dry land, with acidic dry land dominating at about 108.8 million hectares. This scale makes dry land not merely a marginal area, but a strategic arena for resource-based economic development. This condition is inseparable from the ecological character of the region. Dry land is characterised by limited water (generally rain-fed), low soil fertility, and high vulnerability to erosion. Meanwhile, marginal land has low productivity without appropriate technological intervention. The combination of these factors results in low productivity, unstable income, and limited market access. The development of plantations on dry land cannot be carried out uniformly. The main principle is site suitability (fit-to-site), or matching the type of commodity with agroclimatic conditions, soil, and water availability. In regions with low rainfall, cashew nuts are the most relevant example. This plant can grow with rainfall of around 500–1,000 mm per year with a dry period of 4–6 months. Its ability to survive on less fertile soil makes it ideal for critical land, while also having high economic value through kernel products, CNSL oil, and food processing. Coconuts also become a flexible commodity, although they still require certain conditions. In optimal zones, coconuts grow well in areas with fewer than three dry months and low elevation. Its value added is very broad, ranging from coconut milk, coconut oil, coconut sugar, to derivative products such as fibres and briquettes. For regions with more supportive microclimate conditions, coffee and cocoa become strategic choices. Robusta and arabica coffee require rainfall of around 1,250–2,500 mm per year with limited dry periods.