Opportunities Organic Agriculture in Indonesia

Entering the 21st century, people began to realize the danger caused by use of synthetic chemicals in agriculture. People are wise in choosing food for health in a safe and friendly environment. Healthy lifestyles with the slogan Back to Nature has been a new trend to leave the old patterns of life using non-natural chemicals, such as fertilizers, chemical pesticides and synthetic hormones in the growth of agricultural production. Food is healthy and nutritious can be produced with high new method, known as organic agriculture.

Organic agriculture is the cultivation of agricultural techniques which rely on natural materials-without the use of synthetic chemicals. The main objectives of organic agriculture is to provide agricultural products, especially food safety for the health of producers and consumers and does not damage the environment. Healthy lifestyles so coordinate has the international security requires that agricultural products should be consumed have attributes safe (food safety attributes), the actual high-nutrition (nutritional attributes) and environmentally friendly (eco-labelling attributes). Consumer preferences, such as this cause demand world of organic agriculture products increased rapidly.

Indonesian wealth of resources have a unique tropical biodiversity, plenty sunlight, water and land, culture and society that respects nature, the potential for organic agriculture is very big. Organic agricultural products market of the world increased by 20% per year, therefore the development of organic cultivation of agricultural crops in priority need high economic value to meet the needs of the domestic market and export.

Opportunities Organic Agriculture in Indonesia

Area of land available for organic agriculture in Indonesia is very large. From 75.5 million ha of land that can be used for agricultural businesses, new about 25.7 million ha of rice fields have been cultivated for crops and (BPS, 2000). Organic agriculture requires that land not used or not by exposed to pollution chemicals and have good accessibility. Quality and area into consideration in the selection of land. Land that is not exposed to pollution land that has not grown, but in general, so is less fertile land. Generally fertile land that has grown with the intensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Land use such as this requires a long enough period of conversion, which is about 2 years.

Volume of organic agricultural products to reach 5-7% of total agricultural products sold in international markets. Most in supply by developed countries such as Australia, the United States and Europe. In Asia, organic agricultural products market is dominated by many countries far east as Japan, Taiwan and Korea.

Market potential of organic agricultural products in the country is very small, only limited to the middle to the top. Various constraints faced by, among others: 1) there is no adequate price incentives for producers of organic agricultural products, 2) need expensive investments in the early development of the land must select a truly sterile material of Agrochemicals, 3) there is no certainty of the market, so that farmers are reluctant to produce these commodities.

Planting area of organic agriculture, Australia and Oceania have most knowledgeable land that is approximately 7.7 million ha. Europe, Latin America and North America each approximately 4.2 million, 3.7 million and 1.3 million hectares. Planting area of organic agricultural commodities in Asia and Africa are still relatively low at around 0.09 million and 0.06 million hectares (Table 1). Vegetables, coffee and tea dominate the market of agricultural products in addition to the international organic farm products.

Table 1. Organic planting area of each region in the world, 2002

No. Area of region (million ha)

1. Australia and Oceania 7.70
2. Europe 4.20
3. Latin America 3.70
4. United States Utar 1.30
5. Asia 0.09
6. Africa 0.06

Source: IFOAM, 2002; PC-TAS, 2002.

Indonesia has the potential big enough to compete in the international market even if gradually. This is because the various comparative advantages among others: 1) there are many resources that the land can be opened to develop a system of organic agriculture, 2) technology to support organic agriculture is enough available, such as making compost, planting it with soil, biological pesticides, and others.

Further development of organic agriculture in Indonesia should be addressed to meet global market demand. Thus commodities-commodities such as vegetables and exotic crops such as coffee and tea that have the potential to export need to be bright enough to be developed. Products such as coffee, Indonesia is the second largest exporter after Brazil, but the international coffee market in India does not have a trademark.

Development of organic agriculture in Indonesia has not need a new institutional structure, because this system is almost as well as intensive agriculture, such as at this time. Institutional farmers as farmers' groups, cooperatives, associations or corporations are still very relevant. However, the most important agricultural institutions need to be able to strengthen the bargaining position of farmers.

Modern Organic Agriculture

The last few years, organic agriculture, modern agriculture system in the entrance of Indonesia and sporadic small-scale. Developing modern agriculture organic produce safe food for the health system and environment-friendly production. But the general concept of modern organic agriculture has not been much known and much is. While the emphasis is more to leave the synthetic pesticides. With the development of knowledge and technology, health, environment, microbiology, chemistry, molecular biology, biochemistry and others, organic agriculture continues to grow.

In modern organic agricultural system required standards of quality and this is applied by importer countries with very strict. Often one organic agricultural products must be returned to the country, including exporter to Indonesia because the uterus is found residues of pesticides and other chemicals.

The many products that claim a product as organic agriculture that are not certified to create doubt in the consumers. Certification of organic agricultural products can be divided into two criteria, namely:

a) Local Certification for the domestic market. Agriculture is still tolerate the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers in the amount of the minimum or Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA), but have very limited the use of synthetic pesticides. Control by using the opt biopestisida, tolerant varieties, biological and agensia. Team to formulate a national certification has been established by the Ministry of Agriculture, with the involvement of universities and other parties associated.

b) Certification for the export and certain circles in the country, such as the certification issued by IFOAM and SKAL. Some of the requirements that must be met, among others, the conversion of land, storage of organic products, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides as well as processing the results must meet specific requirements for organic agricultural products.

Some prospective commodities that can be developed with the organic agriculture system in Indonesia, among other food crops, horticulture, plantation, spices and medicinal plants, and livestock, (Table 2). Facing the era of free trade in 2010 expected future organic agriculture Indonesia can export products to international markets.

Table 2. Eligible commodities to be developed with the organic agriculture system

No. Commodity Category

1. Food Crops Rice
2. Horticulture Vegetables: broccoli, red cabbage, petsai, caisin, cho and white, shoot cabbage, spinach leaves, pumpkin siyam, oyong and baligo. Fruit: jackfruit, durian, salak, mango, oranges and mangosteen.
3. Coconut Plantation, nutmeg, cashew nuts, cloves, pepper, vanilla and coffee.
4. Spices and medicinal Ginger, turmeric, temulawak, meeting and other meetings.
5. Livestock Milk, eggs and meat