The Number of Marginal Farmers in Indonesia Increased by 18% in the Last 10 Years

The 2023 Agricultural Census results from Indonesia's Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) show an increase in the number of smallholder farming households (Rumah Tangga Usaha Pertanian or RUTP), or those farming in their yards, over the past 10 years.

The number of smallholder farmers in 2023 reached 16.89 million households. This is an 18.54% increase from 2013, when there were 14.25 million smallholder farmers.

BPS Chief Secretary Atqo Merdiyanto explained that this increase is due to shrinking land availability, leading many farmers to become smallholders.

"One of the concepts of smallholder farmers is that they have limited land. There's definitely a correlation. Over time, land is becoming increasingly scarce," he said in an online press conference on Monday (December 4, 2023).

Atqo stated that with the increasing number of smallholder farmers, government agricultural programs should focus not on land expansion, but on improving farmer productivity.

The highest proportion of smallholder farmers is found on the islands of Maluku and Papua, specifically in Papua Pegunungan, at 98.63% of the total smallholder RUTP in the region. This means that almost all farmers in this area are smallholders.

The second highest proportion is on the island of Java, specifically in the province of Yogyakarta, at 87.75%.

"For Java, the highest is in Yogyakarta because smallholder farmers are linked to land. We understand that areas with limited land [in Java] are in Yogyakarta," said Atqo.

(Also read: Generation X Dominates the Number of Indonesian Farmers in 2023)