Jakarta. Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sudaryono is working to reinvigorate the agricultural sector and encourage young Indonesians to see farming as a viable career. In a recent interview on BTV’s "Beritasatu Special," he said that agriculture offers promising opportunities for the younger generation.

“We have demographic bonuses, we have young people, and agriculture offers great potential,” Sudaryono said, explaining that the sector is filled with diverse fields for young people to explore.

He said that agriculture isn’t just about traditional crops like rice, soybeans, and corn. “Millennial farmers can engage in horticulture, fruits, chili peppers, eggplants, and vegetables,” he added, pointing out that agriculture is a vast field with various sub-sectors.

Sudaryono further divided agriculture into two key areas: on-farm and off-farm activities. On-farm activities include direct involvement in land management, such as crop cultivation and livestock farming. Off-farm activities, on the other hand, focus on value-added processes such as packaging, processing, and exporting agricultural products. “Both on-farm and off-farm activities are promising,” Sudaryono noted.

The Agriculture Ministry has been actively supporting young farmers in both areas, helping them gain experience in exporting agricultural products like palm sugar and coconut, as well as promoting spice cultivation, such as ginger, nutmeg, and pepper. To support off-farm entrepreneurs, the ministry is focused on scaling businesses and tracking progress through key success indicators, including higher sales and profits.

Sudaryono also emphasized the importance of expanding access to export markets, pointing out that trade diplomacy plays a crucial role in connecting Indonesia’s agricultural sector to the global market. The Ministry is working to reduce imports while increasing agricultural exports to boost economic growth.

One of the ministry’s main goals is to increase the number of young farmers and the economic scale of their businesses. “We must ensure that young farmers grow not only in numbers but also in economic impact,” he said.

To make farming more attractive to the millennial generation, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman has introduced a program offering modern technology and competitive salaries. Under this initiative, millennial farmers can earn up to Rp 10 million ($640) per month, which is five times the average wage for farmers.

This effort to modernize the sector and offer better wages is part of a broader strategy to achieve food self-sufficiency and boost the agricultural sector’s appeal to young people. According to data from the Central Statistics Agency in February 2024, the average wage for agricultural workers is around Rp 2.1 million, well below the national average of Rp 3.04 million. Agriculture remains a vital sector, employing 40.72 million people, or 28.6 percent of Indonesia’s workforce.