Despite Indonesia struggling to achieve food self-sufficiency, farming continues to haemorrhage the young blood it desperately needs if the country’s agricultural sector is to regain its past glory.

The government and other stakeholders realize the need to change the negative perception, especially among millennials, about farming being a back-breaking, lowly paid job that promises no bright future.

A group of activists from various organizations concerned about the decline in agriculture have begun trying to turn the situation around and make agriculture and agribusiness more attractive for younger people.

To start with, they have selected 30 applicants who convinced the recruiters of their strong interest in agriculture. The 10 best trainees will be appointed as “young farmer ambassadors” and entitled to more intensive mentoring on modern farming techniques and agribusiness. Also, they will serve as liaisons, acting as bridges between farmers and investors.

“We selected innovative young people to help restore the image of agriculture,” said Dedi Triady, the country coordinator of AgriProFocus Indonesia, one of the initiators of the Young Farmer Ambassadors program.

“We want to strengthen their capacity for doing business, networking and personal development.”

To qualify for the ambassadorial post, candidates need to produce sound evidence showing they have an innovative mind-set, such as by adding value to raw agricultural products, making the best of technology and maximizing productivity. In short, they must have the skills and proficiency to show the younger generation that farming can be a profitable enterprise.

Kebun Kumara is a 300-square-meter garden in Ciputat, Banten. Cofounded by Siti Soraya Cassandra and Dhira Narayana, it can earn up to Rp 100 million (US$6,611) a year from the sale of organic plants.

Thanks to the success story, the garden has been destined as an education plot for young people to learn about agriculture and agro-preneurship.

“I have never heard about a child who aspires to become a farmer or fisherman,” Siti says in petanimuda.org, a platform created to inspire young people to become farmers.

The innovative campaign targeting the young came amid reports of young people migrating from villages to urban and industrial centers for better-paid jobs. More and more young people are uprooted from their agrarian base.

A recent study by the People’s Coalition for Food Sovereignty (KRKP) found that 63 percent of the children of rice farmers in Bogor, West Java, did not want to follow in their parents’ footsteps. Similarly, 53 percent of the children of horticultural farmers in the municipality did not want to become farmers.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a growing number of young people in Indonesia choose to leave villages where their parents are farmers as they no longer see any incentive in the profession.

Over the past 15 years, urban areas in Indonesia have grown by 50 million people, while the rural population has shrunk by 5 million, according to the organization. In 2016, at least 7 million people migrated from rural to urban areas.

In its 2013 national survey, Statistics Indonesia found that 60.8 percent of more than 26 million farmers aged 45 years and older, and more than 70 percent of all farmers had only an elementary education.

The FAO advises governments to offer incentives to farmers otherwise all efforts to keep young people on their farms will be doomed to fail. It suggests that the government show that farming can be profitable.

“The young generation is urgently needed in rural areas. To stem the flow of migration out of the rural areas, we have to provide the right incentives, and demonstrate that being engaged in agriculture can be profitable, and provide for a comfortable living,” says Mark Smulders, FAO representative to Indonesia and Timor Leste, on the organization’s website.

Engaging the young in agriculture needs innovation as shown by the alliance of farming campaigners. Just like in advanced countries, the Indonesian government will have to provide incentives, such as start-up capital and subsidized fertilizers, and protective measures so that local products can compete with imports in terms of affordability and quality.

Only if the government is able to prove that being a farmer is a truly rewarding profession will Indonesia be able to reclaim its fading reputation as an agrarian nation.

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