The Farmer Empowerment Through Agricultural Technology and Information Project (FEATI) is part of a key effort of the Government of Indonesia to revitalize the agricultural sector. Empowerment of farmers through improved information networks, community agribusiness development, enhanced linkages between research and extension will result in increased diversification, higher farmer incomes and agricultural competitiveness. This will help the country meet its goals of increasing the sectoral growth rate to 3.9 per cent and encouraging agricultural diversification. | | | | 
| | Indonesian farming has been rice based but profit margins are declining and productivity growth in the post green revolution era has been slow. Increasingly farmers are seeking new ways to improve profitability through linking to information on alternative crops. Government services need strengthening but the future will involve partnerships between farmers groups and public, private and NGO based information sources. | 
| | Farmer groups at village level will be the at the center of the project and it is they who will decide on priorities for infomation and the use of grants from the project for information or testing of new technology. The project will also foster the growth of farmer groups at district and province level to interact with government in deciding on extension priorities. | 
| | The pilot project Decentralized Agricultural and Forestry Extension (DAFEP) helped farmers by providing grants to allow them to link to information sources, markets, surprisingly to many non-farm opportunities, not only through government services but by access to the private sector, NGOs and other farmers, sometimes by travelling among Indonesia's 7,000 islands. |  | | FEATI extends the work of DAFEP from 16 to over 70 districts, linking farmers, government and private sector services, with particular emphasis on improving access to markets and to value adding. FEATI will also work with research outreach services to link farmer groups and researchers.
|  | | An example is the vanilla crop. Prices are very volatile and good returns depend on knowledge of how to turn green pods through processing into dried processed and packaged product ready for shipment. |  | | The private sector has been a keen cooperator as it sees the value of working with groups of farmers not just individuals. Here on Flores, a cocoa buyer is actually an extension agent, acting to keep the quality of deliveries up to market requirements by giving advice and price incentives to farmers to produce quality product. |  | | In Eastern Indonesia with its long dry season, the project will cooperate with other agencies such as the Australian Centre for International Agricultural research which is working on improved livestock management for the unique Bali breed of cattle which have adapted to the harsh environment |  | | On Java and in Sumatra, work with farmer groups could improve their returns from cattle breeding not only by helping to introduce better breeds such as this Zebu bull but also by linking them to feedlots run by the private sector where better and more reliable store stock prices are available. |  | | Overall, FEATI is the beginning of a larger program to improve rural productivity in Indonesia. It will be followed soon by the Agricultural Exports Competitiveness project, working on tree crops and emphasizing linkages to established quality line programs of the private sector which aim to improve the sustainability of smallholder farming. The World Bank is also exploring the potential improvements to agricultural research and the opportunities in agriculture with indigenous communities through possible links to an International Fund for Agricultural Development project in Eastern Indonesia. | | | | |
Photos courtesy of Rick Chisholm. More information:
 Project documents
Rural development and agriculture in Indonesia
Indonesia website
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