New Economic Opportunities from Agriculture: Deputy Minister Prepares New Regulations
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) is preparing regulations related to carbon economic value (NEK) in the agricultural sector as a step to accelerate the implementation of carbon trading in Indonesia. This regulation is expected to serve as the foundation for the agricultural sector to quickly enter the national carbon exchange ecosystem.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture (Wamentan) Sudaryono stated that the government is currently proceeding on two fronts regarding the carbon exchange, namely preparing institutions at the central level and drafting technical regulations in the agricultural sector.
“To accelerate the carbon economic value or NEK, the government through the Coordinating Minister for Food is currently in the process of regulating the structure and working mechanisms of the Steering Committee for the Organiser of Carbon Economic Value Instruments and Greenhouse Gas Emission Control,” said Sudaryono during a working meeting with Commission IV of the DPR RI at the Parliamentary Complex, Jakarta, on Tuesday (14/4/2026).
“Furthermore, at our place, in the Ministry of Agriculture, we are also drafting, in the process of the Ministerial Regulation (Permentan) on the organisation of NEK instruments and control of greenhouse gas effects in the agricultural sector. It is hoped that with these two instruments, carbon trading in the agricultural sector can soon be implemented well in Indonesia,” he continued.
In addition, Kementan is preparing a complete working framework as a guide for implementing NEK in the agricultural sector, including roadmaps and readiness measurement methodologies.
“In addition to those two regulations, we have also prepared or are preparing a working framework for the implementation of the carbon economic value roadmap in the agricultural sector and a framework for the methodology for assessing Indonesia’s readiness to switch to low-emission rice varieties,” he explained.
Furthermore, Sudaryono said the government is also designing several strategic policies to support the transition to low-emission agriculture. These include the Net Zero Emission Roadmap for the agricultural sector, the Enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution Roadmap for the agricultural sector, the Second Nationally Determined Contribution Roadmap for the agricultural sector, and the NEK or carbon economic value roadmap for the agricultural sector.
With these various instruments, Kementan hopes the agricultural sector can make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while also gaining economic benefits from carbon trading.
Previously, the President’s Special Envoy for Energy and Climate, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, targeted that Indonesia’s carbon market would begin operating in July 2026, with transaction value potential reaching billions of US dollars.
He stated that the government already has a legal basis through Presidential Regulation Number 110 of 2025 regarding the organisation of carbon economic value and national emission control.
“I can report that the government has set the end of June for market operations, and in July we hope trading can be quite large, reaching billions of dollars—this is an extraordinary achievement, and all ministers in the red and white cabinet have the same mission: it must succeed,” said Hashim at the ESG Sustainability Forum 2026 CNBC Indonesia, on Tuesday (3/2/2026).
He also emphasised that Indonesia’s carbon market will rely on nature-based solutions such as mangroves and seagrasses, which are currently in demand by global players.
“I can say that international carbon players are interested. They are not interested in industry-based, chemical factories, cement, coal-fired power plants… they are more interested in nature-based solutions. We must not overestimate; according to international players, everything the international world wants is listed in PP 110/2025,” he stressed.