News & Insights

Rikolto in collaboration with Gita Pertiwi NGO has conducted a carbohydrate food-reprocessing workshop for low-income communities in SMKN 4 Solo City on last February 7, 2018. The workshop involved 30 participants from various institutions and organisations, including home-based entrepreneurs, elderly nursing home, orphanage, family welfare movement, and high schools in Solo city area.

Two researchers from the University of Wageningen visited the cocoa growing area in Polman district. They studied the business relations between the farmer organisation, called Amanah, and Mars. Our colleague Peni Agustijanto explains the role Rikolto plays in the cocoa sector in this area.

On Monday, 16 October 2017, VECO Indonesia has officially replaced its name to Rikolto which means ‘harvest’ in Esperanto language.

VECO Indonesia is once again participating at Indonesia’s largest annual business-to-business (B2B) trade event, the 32nd Trade Expo Indonesia 2017.

VECO Indonesia promotes new social-economic development programme with government and farmer organisations in South Sulawesi Province

What will the future bring considering that the average age of farmers is over 55-60 years old? Read this article and watch a short video to find out what the young people of SMAN 4 Bali think about the challenges in Indonesia and their take on the food for the future.

Dear VECO colleagues, partners, donors, supporter and friends around the globe, thank you so much for being patient, waiting for this issue of Lontar to come out.

Learning from vegetable-and-fruit farmers in and around Arusha, the road to a good food system is far from easy.

VECO Indonesia’s cinnamon farmer organisation partner in Kerinci, TAKTIK, and their long-time buyer PT Agripro Tridaya Nusantara (ATN) have recently made a major breakthrough by establishing a 5-year joint operation.

In 2016, for the first time ever VECO Indonesia conducted a series of assessments on 14 of its farmer organisation partners using assessment tools provided by SCOPEinsight. The results have to some extent turned farmers into entrepreneurs.

Vredeseilanden/VECO’s house is under renovation. It is not however our office building that is being rebuilt, it’s our organisation. From January 1st 2017 our organisational structure will undergo a total makeover and we will become an international network organisation. This move is being done in order for us to be better prepared and able to deal with the many challenges facing the food and agriculture sector, now and in the future.

“The key is the key farmer,” said Diaz Alfi Agus Lukas, the oldest member of the Judges Team of the Cocoa Cadre Competition, while the other members nodded and smiled in agreement. Held in East Flores on August 20-31, 2016, the competition became a moment to consolidate and share various knowledge on applied GAPs as well as to shape the commitments of model farmers or key farmers. Expectantly this key will be able to open many “doors” of opportunities for a better future of cocoa industry in East Flores.

For the first time ever, in 2016 VECO Indonesia assessed 14 farmers organisation partners using the SCOPEinsight tool, which measures professionalism standards of farmers organisations. What is SCOPEinsight? And what did the farmers organisations think about it? Please read the article and don't forget to watch the short video containing opinions and testimonies on SCOPEinsight.

Marselina Walu, also known as Mama Lina, pushes back against the stereotypical images of farming that, in Indonesia, are usually dominated by men. Mama Lina is not only a woman who farms, but also a leader, now chairing a coffee cooperative in Bajawa, Ngada District, Flores, in the province of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.

“Let’s Become Farmers” was the motto at this talk show that started with a documentary called “Agriyoungsters” made by Joren de Neve, an intern at VECO Indonesia and a student in Social Work from the University of Ghent, Belgium. The movie gave an insight on the life of a young farmer in Boyolali, Kiswoyo, who went to Jakarta after he graduated high school, only to come back to his village a few years later and discover that agriculture is an industry which provides him with not only an income but also a purpose and a future.

Coffee and cocoa are two of five largest export commodities in Indonesia, bringing major impact for the national economy. These two agricultural products are now feeling the pressures of the global climate change. VECO Indonesia programs have successfully encouraged the establishment of several climate-sensitive businesses in the hands of Indonesia's smallholder farmers. Bringing forward the inclusive business ideas, VECO Indonesia and its Inclusive Modern Market (IMM) partners recently met to find ways to help improve the success achieved at the structural level by Pilot Chains for coffee and cocoa.

This year, extreme climate change has once again spelled despair for food and welfare. But for some farmers and fish farmers in Tasikmalaya district, West Java, this has not been a reason to stop trying. After a long process, their hard work has paid off.

VECO Indonesia and stakeholders in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara have built a commitment to improve the welfare of family farmers.

A group from VECO West Africa and VECO Indonesia visited Thailand to learn about the rice business. The visit took place on 2-6 November 2014. The targets included rice farmers, traders and organic rice retailers.

Indonesian coffee farmers seem to have enjoyed a bumper harvest this year, if participation in the third biennial Indonesia Specialty Coffee Auction is anything to go by.

By recognising the quality of their products, farmers will work harder to produce the best quality.

The Bali International Cocoa Festival (BICF) was held in Jembrana, Bali, on 27-30 August 2014. This festival was a time for actors in the cocoa sector to consolidate, to bring farmers and market actors closer, and to build a feeling of cooperation and greater access to the sustainable cocoa market.

Bank NTT and VECO Indonesia have signed an agreement to work together to increase the incomes of Flores farmers.

From 2008, the program strategy of VECO Indonesia and its partners focused on sustainable agriculture chain development. The focus in Flores is three-fold: the coffee chains in Manggarai, Ngada and Ende; the rice chain in Mbay, Nagekeo; and the cocoa chains in Ende, Sikka and East Flores.

Rain should be a blessing to farmers. But not for I Wayan Asih, a small farmer in Bali, Indonesia. Excessive rainfall has damaged around 1,000 m2 of his chilli pepper crop.

Iddin Rasit now gets a higher price for his cocoa. In the past, he used to sell cocoa, his main commodity, for IDR 7,000-IDR 8,000 wet. But two years on, this farmer in Pongo village, in the Masamba subdistrict of Luwu Utara district, South Sulawesi can get up to IDR 13,500/kg.

Last November 11-13, 2013, Cocoa farmers in Polewali Mandar (Polman), West Sulawesi, organized a Sustainable Cocoa Festival at Pussui Village, Sub District Luyo. The festival served as a space where farmers can share their knowledge and experience as well as inform stakeholders on issues related to cocoa.

Jacob Tanda received a Heroes for Indonesia award on Heroes’ Day, 10 November. Head of Mbatakapidu Village, Kota Waingapu District, East Sumba, West Nusa Tenggara Timur, Jacob was one of ten winners of this award, according to MNC, Indonesia’s largest TV network.

In addition to improvement in the standard of living of small farmers, sustainable agriculture also helps restore biodiversity. The shift towards sustainable agriculture in the production of rice including by employing System of Rice Intensification (SRI) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) often recovers organism living in the ecosystem of farming area such as insects, amphibians, and fishes.

Early May, Aliansi Petani Padi Organik Boyolali (APPOLI) successfully exported certified organic rice to Belgium. Following this first export of rice from APPOLI, another is scheduled to Germany at the end of July 2013, after which APPOLI will export to several other countries.