Ministry of Agriculture Prepares 5.9 Billion Sugarcane Seedlings by 2026 to Pursue Sugar Self-Sufficiency
The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) is preparing 5.9 billion sugarcane seedlings by 2026 to accelerate national sugar self-sufficiency through the expansion of smallholder sugarcane cultivation and increased productivity of national plantations.
“The Ministry of Agriculture is accelerating efforts towards national sugar self-sufficiency by strengthening the development of smallholder sugarcane,” said Agriculture Minister (Mentan) Andi Amran Sulaiman in Jakarta on Thursday, 12 March 2026.
The Minister stated that in 2026 the government is targeting the distribution of 5.9 billion sugarcane seedlings for the development of planting areas totalling 99,547 hectares, which will be implemented across 10 provinces and 74 districts throughout Indonesia. However, he did not specify which provinces these would be.
This step, Amran continued, forms part of the strategy to strengthen sugarcane cultivation areas whilst increasing the productivity of smallholder sugarcane plantations in order to sustainably meet national sugar requirements.
He stressed that strengthening sugarcane production is one of the government’s priorities in promoting the achievement of sugar self-sufficiency.
According to him, the government continues to undertake improvements from upstream to downstream to ensure the national sugar production system grows increasingly robust.
“We are implementing improvements from upstream to downstream, starting from seeds, planting patterns, value-chain systems, to marketing aspects. The objective is straightforward – farmers must gain profit,” said Amran.
The Minister also targeted national sugar production to increase to approximately 3 million tonnes by 2026, alongside the expansion and optimisation of national sugarcane land as part of efforts to strengthen Indonesia’s food security.
This acceleration effort previously commenced in 2025. Throughout that year, the Directorate General of Plantations at Kementan distributed 1.925 billion sugarcane seedlings to farmers, equivalent to the development of planting areas of approximately 32,096 hectares, based on an estimated requirement of around 60,000 seedlings per hectare.
“This programme was implemented across seven provinces and 56 districts,” he explained.
Acting Director General of Plantations at Kementan, Abdul Roni Angkat, explained that the availability of superior seeds constitutes an important foundation in increasing the productivity and sugar content of sugarcane at the farmer level.
“Seeds represent the main foundation in sugarcane cultivation. Through this seed assistance programme, the government wishes to ensure farmers obtain access to superior seeds so that sugarcane productivity and sugar content can increase,” said Roni.
He added that the Directorate General of Plantations will continue to strengthen coordination with regional governments, seed multipliers, and farmers to ensure the seed distribution process runs on time and reaches the correct targets.
With the strengthening of seeds and the expansion of smallholder sugarcane development, the government is optimistic that national sugar production will continue to increase. Beyond strengthening domestic sugar supplies, this programme is also expected to improve farmer welfare whilst reducing Indonesia’s dependence on sugar imports.