Country overview
Agriculture and land-based natural resource sectors generate 17% of Indonesia’s GDP (with GDP growth in the agricultural sector of 3.5% in 2017). Among farmers, 93% are smallholders. Some 11 million workers and their families depend on the oil palm industry, which generates 20% of national export earnings (equivalent to $17.7 billion a year), while 16 million work on other food crops – four million on livestock and 3 million in horticulture.
The ocean is responsible for 8% of GDP. As the world’s second-largest fish producer, marine-capture fisheries and aquaculture together employ 7 million people and generated export earnings of $4.1 billion in 2017. Fish contribute 52% of all animal-based protein in the national diet.
Climate change and natural resource degradation are likely to halve potential GDP growth, from 7 to 3.5%, by 2050. The negative economic impact of peat fires in 2015 was estimated at $16 billion. Deforestation, forest and peat fires and land use change are responsible for at least 55% of Indonesia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Rates of deforestation declined significantly in 2017 and again in 2018, but remain high in absolute terms.
Indonesia has one of the world’s highest per capita rates of food loss and waste, including of fish, reaching an estimated 300 kilograms per capita a year. This is the result of a combination of factors, including poor infrastructure and complex value chains between farm (or port) and fork.
High levels of malnutrition – up to 1 in 3 children is stunted by malnutrition – when taken together with obesity and diabetes, lead to GDP losses of on average 2 to 3% a year.
Learn more about Indonesia: Read our global report or the Indonesia country pages.
Read the Action Agenda For A New Food And Land Use Economy In Indonesia here
FOLU in Indonesia
The FOLU Coalition in Indonesia is housed in the National Planning Ministry BAPPENAS’ signature Low Carbon Development Initiative, where it contributes to the formulation of Indonesia’s next mid-term national development plan (the RPJMN for 2020-2024). FOLU Indonesia’s Action Agenda, Ambassadors, partners, studies, research and convening have played a critical role in support of the LCDI as well as other relevant national policy (e.g. EAT’s work on sustainable and healthy diets with the Ministry of Health). In addition, FOLU is also developing long-term pathways for sustainable food and land use systems in Indonesia through the work of the FABLE Consortium, led by FABLE members the Centre for Climate Risk and Opportunity Management, Bogor Agricultural University (CCROM) and the Research Center for Climate Change, University of Indonesia (RCCC-UI). FOLU has also worked at the regional level, including in the provinces of East Kalimantan and Papua and West Papua, in areas including food security, sustainable aquaculture, eco-tourism and mobilizing finance for forest protection and restoration.
FABLE in Indonesia
Participating institutions: Centre for Climate Risk and Opportunity Management, Bogor Agricultural University (CCROM); Research Center for Climate Change, University of Indonesia (RCCC-UI)
Team members: Habiburrachman A H F (RCCC-UI), Rizaldi Boer (CCROM), Gito Immanuel (CCROM), I Putu Santikayasa (CCROM), Jatna Supriatna (RCCC-UI), Nurul Winarni (RCCC-UI)
Publications: 2019 Report of the FABLE Consortium. Pathway for Indonesia.