History

History of extension and the enabling/disabling environment

Around the late 19^th century, when Indonesia was a Dutch colony, an agricultural school was started at Buitenzorg, near the Botanical Garden in Bogor, West Java. The school and the garden became centers of research where demonstration plots of rice and some commercial crops were established. In 1905, certain research centers and the garden were merged in order to create the Agriculture Department, which started delivering extension services. In 1911, this department was re-structured to establish the Agriculture, Industry and Trade Department. The Landbouw Voorlichtings Dients (LVD), that is Agricultural Extension Service, was integrated in the new department as one of the branches responsible for transferring improved technologies to the farmers. These technologies were generated by the Algemeene Proefsation voor den Landbouw (APL), i.e. Agricultural Research Center. Improved technologies, especially related to estate crops, were demonstrated to encourage farmers to adopt them voluntarily, without any pressure. The extension responsibility was mostly delegated to the local or provincial governments.

The 1940’s saw the gradual shifting of the focus from estate crops to food crops, mainly rice. During the Japanese occupation (1942 to 1945) and for two decades after Indonesia won independence in 1945, the voluntary adoption emphasis was replaced by compulsory adoption of recommended technologies by the farmers. The Agricultural Civil Service staff implemented the government policy on promoting food security through rice production more like a regulation than following the extension philosophy.

In the early 1960s, the Bogor Agricultural Institute and the University of Gadjah Mada established demonstration plots for introducing the five-input program (Panca Usaha) for rice showing excellent results.  During mid-1960s, the extension service promoted rice production technology through a mass demonstration approach (termed as the DENAS system), which brought the Green Revolution to Indonesia.

Starting 1966, a program for the strengthening of agricultural extension was included in the government’s five-year development plan. Under the program, various extension approaches were tried, interaction with the farmers’ groups was increased, additional field extension workers were recruited, and the Rural Extension Centers (Balai Penyuluhan Pertanian or BPP) were rehabilitated at local level. During that period, the Ministry of Agriculture comprised four technical directorates general, one each for food crops, livestock, estate crops, and fisheries, with all of them having their own extension sections. Extension services implemented a rice intensification-focused program under a mass guidance approach called BIMAS (Bimbingan Massal). Several agencies were created such as Agency for Mass Guidance, Agency for Agricultural Research and Development, and Agency for Agricultural Education and Training, which also had an Agricultural Information Center for the purposes of training the extension staff and production of extension material. During this era, the World Bank financed the National Food Crops Extension Project followed by the National Agricultural Extension Project; both projects followed the Training and Visit (T&V) system. Although the country became self-sufficient in rice, the practice of excessive application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides created major environment problems including the demise of a population of spiders which normally fed on the brown plant hopper thus upsetting the natural balance.

During the mid-1980s, a serious outbreak of brown plant hopper damaged rice crops, which forced the government to adopt the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) modality. The emphasis on biological control of pests severely cut down imports of chemical inputs. The IPM was applied mainly through the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach, which encouraged the participation of farmers in decision making regarding the pest control. However, as the T&V system was found to be unsustainable due to its top-down, structured nature, and heavy additional staff requirements, the FFS was also considered as unsustainable mainly due to its high costs.

The year 2001 brought the current decentralization in Indonesia under which the responsibility and funding of various services, including extension, was transferred to the district governments and to some extent to the provincial governments. Upon decentralization, extension services were seriously marginalized due to political interference by elected officials of the Local Government, lack of recognition of extension’s importance, and low operational funding. A large number of rural extension centers and extension training centers were closed. The extension workers were extremely frustrated and demoralized. The development of extension achieved over three decades was lost to a great extent.

During 1990s, under the World Bank-financed Agricultural Research Management Projects I and II (ARM I and II), Agricultural Technology Assessment Institutes (BPTP) were established in a number of provinces which carried out combined functions of research and extension, and also involved private sector and civil society institutions in their activities. When the ARM II project ended around 2005, the Asian Development Bank continued the assistance through another project to establish the BPTPs in the remaining provinces. The World Bank also financed two more projects: one, the Decentralized Agricultural and Forestry Extension Project (DAFEP) started in 1999 and now completed, and the other the Farmer Empowerment through Agricultural Technology and Information Project (FEATI), built on the achievements of DAFEP, which started in 2007. FEATI is covering 198 provinces comprising 68 districts and 3080 villages, with total budget of $123 million, and comprises five components:  (i) Strengthening farmer-driven extension; (ii) Institutional strengthening and capacity building; (iii) Enhancing technology assessment; (iv) Dissemination, including the provision of knowledge and information services; (v) Extension policy and project management support.

The current Extension Law No. 16/2006 has put new life to the extension system, which was seriously damaged during early years of decentralization. The Law underlines the revitalization of extension in the provinces and districts; endorses pluralistic extension approach involving both public and non-public actors; and has put agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors together for extension purposes under one new institution called Agency for Extension Coordination (BAKORLUH). Groups of farmers are actively participating in extension decision making supported by improved technologies, information systems and coordination among research, extension and other relevant institutions.

Among the donors that have been active and influential in reforming and strengthening the extension system in Indonesia, the World Bank is at the top; the others include the Asian Development Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United States Agency for Development (USAID) and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), which provided assistance in the area of rural and agricultural development in general. A large number of multi-lateral and bilateral donors including the European Union assisted Indonesia in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. In 2008, Saudi investors launched agricultural projects in Indonesia worth $1.3 billion.

Extension Providers

Public Institutions

Ministry of Agriculture Website 

National Center for Agricultural Extension Development (NCAED)
The organizational structure of public extension in Indonesia is presently in fluid condition. A number of changes are being made under the current Extension Law No. 16/2006. Recent sources of information on the organization of extension, available on the Internet, do not unanimously mention any one main national level organization within the Ministry of Agriculture responsible for extension, but different organizations such as Agency for Extension Coordination, Center for Agricultural Extension Development, and National Center for Agricultural Development. The number of extension staff also differs from source to source.  The official Indonesian Government’s website indicates some of the institutions’ previous websites as obsolete—a reflection of ongoing changes. Until more recent reliable information becomes available on the title of the extension organization, the title of the national level institution of the Ministry of Agriculture responsible for extension will be the National Center for Agricultural Extension Development. This particular title appears in a country paper on extension in Indonesia presented by a government official at an international workshop on rural development held in South Korea in August 2010.

The national level institution is responsible for defining extension policy, formulating principles, norms and regulatory framework for extension, setting minimum standards and accrediting institutes, media, infrastructure and budgets for extension, and enhancing in-country and international cooperation in extension.

Provincial Agricultural Extension Coordination Offices 
The provincial offices are responsible for the management of education and training for the development of human resources at various levels, provision of vocational education and extension skills to senior and middle level staff, and training of field extension agents. In 2010, the number of agricultural extension coordination offices was 32.

District Agricultural Extension Offices
It is the crucial level for extension program planning and execution purposes.  A list of the responsibilities of the district agricultural extension offices, whose number in 2010 was 4,329, is as follows:

• To develop policy and programs for the management of extension at the district level;
• To develop audio-visual extension material for electronic media as required;
• To provide education and training support to the groups of farmers;
• To ensure coordination and cooperation among farming communities, extension staff and researchers;
• To provide education and training to field extension agents on regular basis;
• To provide adequate management support to extension institutes;
• To provide logistical and technical support to farmers including women and rural youth;
• To manage agricultural libraries;
• To supervise overall development of extension in the district

Table 1: Human Resources in Public Extension in Indonesia as of 2011

Source: IFPRI/FAO/IICA Worldwide Extension Study 2011 

Non-Public Institutions

Private sector

Plantation crops of Indonesia like rubber, coconut, oil-palm, sugar cane, coffee, tea, cocoa, tobacco, clove and pepper obviously attract private companies who would like to invest in these commodities in various forms. In 2011, the government was cooperating with a group of 14 companies with the aim of intensifying the agriculture sector. During initial announcements under this cooperation, Nestle committed the allocation of US$ 100 million to build a new plant in Karawang, and to enhance cocoa production in Sulawesi and milk production in Central Java. The PT Sinar Mas announced the allocation of US$ 250 million for capital expense to intensify crude palm oil production. Apart from these, Indonesia has certain food crops like rice and corn which are of interest to private investors. There are no private companies in Indonesia which provide regular extension services on fee basis. Companies which are involved in trading, agro-processing and provision of farm inputs are the ones which impart extension advice to the farmers in line with their own commercial interests. The involvement of private companies comes through contract farming and public-private partnerships and the extension advice in the form of training, demonstrations and field days for farmers.

Following are examples of certain private companies that have been and/or will be active in extension or extension-related activities through partnerships, joint ventures or individual initiatives:

PISAgro
The company is engaged in seven priority commodities namely soybean, rice, palm oil, potato, cocoa and corn with the aim to increase the yields, reduction in CO2 emission, and poverty reduction in line with the government target of 20 percent in each of the three components.

Nestle
Nestle has been cooperating with the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute since 1994. It claims to have helped 10,000 farmers at Tanggamus and Lampung in enhancing the production and improving the product quality through extension advice. Since 2010, Nestle has been collaborating with HIVOS, a Dutch NGO, in helping the cattle farmers with biogas plant installation. The company’s Cocoa Plan is expected to invest about US$ 4 million over four years in the training of farmers, provision of technical assistance, strengthening of supply chain transparency, and establishment of an experimental and demonstration farm in collaboration with the provincial government of West Sulawesi and Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute. In this regard, an agribusiness cocoa area covering 20,000 to 50,000 hectares will be established along with mini-processing plants. In this effort, Armajaro and Petra Foods will cooperate on the marketing aspect.

Danone with Cargill
Danone and Cargill joined hands and engaged a farmers’ dairy cooperative in West Java with 700 cattle. Farmers were provided training and supplied with affordable feed supplement based on locally available feed stock. According to Cargill News in 2011, after just eight months, considerable increase was recorded in milk production, protein content, cows’ conception rate, farmers’ income, and the number of consumers.

Syngenta
This company sells seed and other agricultural inputs. Syngenta Learning Center and Syngenta Model Farm at many locations and serves as sources of learning for the farmers. The company’s staff also makes use of cellular mobile phones for delivering technical advice to the farmers. Syngenta claims to have trained as many as 45,000 farmers in 2011 while so far in 2012, it has trained additional 10,000 farmers. The company also organizes exhibitions, conferences and commodity contests.

Non-governmental organizations

In Indonesian terminology, NGOs may be self-help groups (LSM) or self-help promoting institutes (LPSM). Indonesia has thousands of LSMs, which are normally of non-formal and temporary character without a registered status, as well as hundreds of LPSMs, which are considered as formally registered and “mature” institutions.

There are considerable number of NGOs whose activities, among others, include irrigation management, research and development, training in appropriate technologies like integrated farming systems, organic farming, horticulture and biological pest management.  Following are examples of a few NGOs which are engaged in rural community and agricultural development:

Bina Swadaya (meaning Self Reliance Foundation)
This NGO’s activities include rural community empowerment, micro-finance, agribusiness, communication for development, and training. It works in cooperation with donors, private sector and international NGOs. Bina Swadaya has worked in partnership with the private company Cargill for the empowerment of corn farmers, and with the private company Danone to empower horticulture farmers, both in Central Java.

Yayasan Dian Desa (Meaning Light of the Village Foundation)
This NGO’s concentrates on rural community empowerment in the areas of water and sanitation, renewable energy, agriculture, aquaculture, small industries, waste management, water treatment and microfinance. In 2009, it has assisted rural communities of Central Java in enhancing their incomes from gardens and those in Eastern Indonesia from planting jatropha for bio-fuel.

Other relevant NGOs

• Lembaga Penelitian Pendidikan Dan Penerangan Ekonomi Dan Social (LP3ES) (meaning Institute for Economic and Social Research, Education and Information)
• CRAD Foundation
• Dian Tama Foundation
• World Food Day Foundation
• Bina Sarana Foundation
• Sagadori Foundation
• WALDA Foundation
• Center of Village Information and Resources
• SADA AHMO Foundation

Farmers-based associations, cooperatives and societies

Indonesia has a considerable number of farmers associations. The names of some of the associations are as follows:

• The Indonesian Farmers Association
• Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia (SCAI)
• Indonesian IPM Farmers Association
• Indonesian Rubber Farmers Association
• Indonesian Tobacco Farmers Association
• Indonesia Gayo Organic Farmers Coffee Association
• Crocodile Farmers Association of Indonesia
• Indonesian Cattle and Buffalo Farmers Association
• National Outstanding Farmers and Fishermen Association
• Association of Indonesian Peasant Harmony
• Association of Indonesian Jatropha Curcas Farmers
• Association of Indonesia Coffee Exporters
• Indonesian Seaweed Association
• Indonesia Poultry Farmers Association
• Indonesian Cocoa Farmers Association
• Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association
• Indonesian Association of Milk Processors (IPS)
• Water User Associations 

In 1973, Indonesia had 2,361 village unit cooperatives and 17,614 other agricultural cooperatives; in 2000, the number of the village unit cooperatives and other agricultural cooperatives increased to 6,946 and 84,819 respectively. Although agricultural cooperatives provided a variety of services to their members over the years, the most significant business programs which the cooperatives were most active in were on fertilizer distribution, sugar cane intensification, clove collection, rice procurement, and sugar distribution.

Agricultural cooperatives are assisted by various bodies and institutions such as the National Cooperative Council of Indonesia (DKEOPIN), the National Federation of the Indonesian Agricultural Cooperatives (INKOPTAN), the Cooperative Education and Training Institution (DEKOPIN), the Indonesian Cooperative Management College (IKOPIN) and a vast network of training centers in the provinces.

A few examples of active agricultural cooperatives and their unions are as follows:

• Tunas Indah Coffee Farmers Cooperative
• Apple Cooperative in Malang
• Union of Indonesian Coastal Cooperatives (GKPN)
• Indonesian Association of Dairy Cooperatives (GKSI)

List of Extension Providers

 The following list shows an excerpt from the GFRAS Directory of Extension Providers for Indonesia. Some of these entries may be specially marked for having more detailed information in the database of the Worldwide Extension Study WWES.

Training

Training options for extension professionals

Pre-service education in agricultural sciences and extension may be undertaken at any of the dozens of academic institutions spread throughout Indonesia. The medium of instruction in almost all the universities and colleges in Indonesia is Indonesian. Names of some relevant academic institutions located in various provinces are as follows:

• Bogor Agricultural University, Bogor, Java
• College of Agriculture, Yogyakarta, Java
• Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Java
• Malang College of Agriculture, Malang, Java
• Agricultural Academy, Gunung Sitoli, Sumatra
• Agricultural Development Academy of Lubung Alung, Pariaman, Sumatra
• Agribusiness Academy, Sanggau, Kalimantan
• Agricultural High School, Sanggata, Kutai Timur, Kalimantan
• Bumi Sebalo Agribusiness Academy, Bengkayang, Kalimantan
• Hasanudin University, Makassar, Sulawesi
• Indonesian Technological University, Bali
• Agricultural Polytechnic, North Maluku, Mollucas
• State University of Papua, Manokwari, Papua
• Agricultural Polytechnic of Yasanto, Merauke, Papua
• Santo Thomas Agricultural College, Jayapura, Papua

The responsibility for in-service training of the extension staff comes under the Indonesian Agency of Agricultural Human Resources (IAAHR), which is located within the Ministry of Agriculture. The IAAHR has the following institutes for training and development of agricultural staff:

• Center for Agricultural Education Development
• Center for Agricultural Extension Development
• Center for Agricultural Training Development
• Center for Agricultural Management and Leadership Training
• Seven (7) Academies of Agricultural Extension (located at Medan, Bogor, Magelang, Yogyakarta, Malang, Gowa and Manokwari)
• Nine (9) Agricultural Training Institutes (located at Lembang, Cinagara, Ketindsn, Batu, Binuang, Batangkaluku, Jambi and Lampung)

In addition, short in-service training programs may be organized at the Agricultural Technology Assessment Institutes (BPTP), which are located in all provinces and have resource persons in research and extension. 

ICT

Info-mediaries and information and communication technology (ict) for agriculture and extension

According to the World Bank in 2010, the number of mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) in Indonesia was 91.78. During the same year, the number of Internet users (per 100 people) in the country was 9.9. The Government of Indonesia has been taking several initiatives to apply ICT to its institutions including those which deal with rural and agricultural development.

The Ministry of Agriculture has the Information System Development Division within the Center for Agricultural Data and Information. The Ministry is using GPS to map wetland areas to explore their potential for agricultural operations. The Smart Cards are being tried to monitor the distribution of subsidies. Data collected by the sub-district staff is sent to an information control center at the Ministry by using web-based applications or SMS, and the same technology is used to disperse this information among the farmers. Computers with the Internet access have been provided to the sub-district offices, which are being used by the field staff for disseminating information to the farmers. Given the popularity of cellular mobile phones among the rural population, SMS is being used to reach farmers living in remote areas. The ongoing World Bank-financed Farmer Empowerment through Agricultural Technology and Information Project (FEATI), started in 2007, presents a big hope for the Ministry to popularize the use of ICT among the extension staff and farmers.

Some of the projects on the use of ICT for rural development being implemented in Indonesia are summarized below:

Microsoft Community Training and Learning Center (MCTLC)
This project was launched by Microsoft in collaboration with seven non-profit organizations. As many as 33 MCTLCs, equipped with computers for accessing the Internet, were established in villages and villagers were trained in their operation and maintenance. It was reported that farmers in the island of Bali used the computers to learn about the production of organic fertilizers, marketing and certain agricultural technologies.

Partnership for e-Prosperity for the Poor
This project was implemented by the National Development Planning Board in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Under the project, tele-centers were established throughout the country equipped with the computers for the Internet access. Poor rural residents were trained in the use of the facility. After the success of the pilot project, the government replicated the tele-center facility in 33,000 villages. Farmers are said to be using the centers for marketing their produce.

Poor Farmers’ Income Improvement through Innovation (also called PFI3)
This project was launched by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank. Under the project, the Ministry was able to not only develop a national farming website containing information on agricultural technologies and marketing,  but it also persuaded the district level agriculture offices to develop their own websites.

Farmer Empowerment through Agricultural Technology and Information Project (FEATI)
This ongoing World Bank financed project aims at, among other things, to educate farmers and their organizations in the use of ICT. Agricultural research and extension institutions will also be electronically linked under the project.  Apart from the projects mentioned above, NGOs working in Indonesia are encouraging farmers to access their websites to learn about the NGOs’ programs and services. Bogor Agricultural University has its Internet based video streaming for providing information on agricultural technologies. While, the use of the Internet by farmers is still in the infancy phase, cellular mobile phones have become very popular in the villages, especially those located in West Java and South Java. Cellular phones are not only used as phones but also as radios and cameras. Using text messaging, farmers exchange information on marketing and learn about improved agricultural technologies. Like farmers, the field extension agents also are not yet using ICT to their full advantage due to lack of training and equipment. There is no doubt the use of ICT will considerably increase in rural Indonesia in the near future.

Resources

Resources and references

Binswanger-Mkhize, H.P. and Y. Zhou (2012). Proceedings of the Roundtable Consultation on Agricultural Extension for Strengthening Sustainable Agriculture and Farmers’ Participation in Value Chains in Asia, March 15-16, 2012, Beijing; available at: www.syngentafoundation.org/view/element_href.cfm?src=1/1126

Herianto, A.S., S.P. Wastutinigsih, D. Foster, M. Rimmer and R. Callinan (no date; probably 2006). Agricultural and fisheries extension in Indonesia – Origins, transitions and current challenges. Extension Farming Systems Journal, Vol. 6, Number 1 – Research Forum, Pp. 23-31

Hicks, R. (6 September 2010). How ICT is helping to feed Indonesia; available at: http://www.futuregov.asia/articles/2010/sep/06how-ict-helping-feed-indonesia/

Jamil, H. (2003). Indonesia Country Paper presented in the APO Seminar on Enhancement of Extension Systems in Agriculture, held in Faisalabad, Pakistan, 15-20 December 2003; in V.P. Sharma (Ed.2006). Enhancement of Extension Systems in Agriculture. Tokyo: Asian Productivity Organization; also available on the Internet as APO e-Book at www.apo-tokyo.org

Lubis, D.P. (2012). Agricultural Extension in Indonesia: Current Status and Possible Ways to Meeting Emerging Challenges. Bogor, Indonesia: Bogor Agricultural University; available at: www.syngentafoundation.org/view/element_href.cfm?src=1/1120...

Margono, T. and S. Sugimoto (2011). The barriers of the Indonesian extension workers in disseminating agricultural information to farmers. International Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences (IJBAS-IJENS), Vol. 11, No. 02 (April 2011) Pp. 98-105

Mulyani, E.S. (2010). National Agricultural Extension System in Indonesia. Paper presented at the Workshop on Rural Development for High Level Officers of the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (AFACI) Member Countries; 7-14 August, 2010 at Suwon, Republic of Korea; available at: www.afaci.org/_include/downfile.asp?folder=board...Indonesia

Purnomo, S.H. and Y. Lee. (2010). An assessment of readiness and barriers towards ICT program implementation: Perceptions of agricultural extension officers in Indonesia. International Journal of Education and Development Using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT), 2010, Vol.6, Issue 3, Pp. 19-36.

Qamar, M.K. (2012) Indonesia – An example of effective agricultural research extension linkage. Available at: http://www.meas-extension.org/meas-offers/case-studies/indonesia-linkages

Simatupang, P. (2012). Pluralism and Partnership in Extension: Selected Experiences. PowerPoint presentation made at the Roundtable for Agricultural Extension, March 15-16, 2012 at Beijing, co-organized by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture; available at: www.syngentafoundation.org/view/element_href.cfm?src=1/1100...

Subagyo, T. (2012). The Role of Private Sector in Agricultural Extension in Indonesia. PowerPoint presentation made at the Roundtable for Agricultural Extension, March 15-16, 2012 at Beijing co-organized by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture; available at: www.syngentafoundation.org/view/element_href.cfm?src=1/1120...

Subagyono, K. (2011). Indonesia Experience in Technology Transfer and Adoption: Incentive and Policy. PowerPoint presentation made at the OECD Conference on AKS, Paris, 17 June, 2011; available at: www.oecd.org/dataoecd/57/51/48218331.pdf

Suradisastra, Kedi. (2006). Agricultural Cooperative in Indonesia. Paper presented at the 2006 FFTC (Food and Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific Region)-NACF (National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, Korea) International Seminar on Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia: Innovations and Opportunities in the 21^st Century; Seoul, Korea, 11-15 September, 2006; available at:www.fftc.agnet.org/htmlarea_file/activities/.../paper-655201936.pdf

World Bank (2009). Aide Memoire of the Second Supervision Mission (February 16-27, 2009) for Indonesia’s Farmer Empowerment through Agricultural Technology and Information Project

Zakaria, A. (2003). Decentralizing Extension to Local Governments: Indonesia Experience. Paper presented at the Regional Workshop on Operationalizing Reform in Agricultural Extension in South Asia; May 6-8, 2003; New Delhi; available at: www.info.worldbank.org/.../ZipAgExtension1/...extension1/.../...