Indonesia

Agroforestry systems, particularly rubber agroforests, are crucial for Dayak communities in Indonesia, providing economic benefits and vital assets for their livelihoods. Two common types in Simpang Dua sub-district are tembawang (traditional fruit gardens) and rubber agroforests. Both have flourished for generations but they now face threats of conversion due to declining rubber prices and the oil palm boom. Tembawang is considered more resilient due to better protection of tenure rights under local customary law and its greater provision of socioeconomic benefits. In some instances, rubber agroforests are only maintained because of their deep rooted social and cultural importance, but they have potential to still be economically valuable. Rubber agroforests can provide a diversified income, offering resilience against volatile rubber markets, and although oil palm provides higher income in the short term, rubber agroforests can provide higher income over the entire system cycle.

Long-term financing is essential to improve yields and product quality, to support smallholder rubber agroforests, but obtaining this type of financing is difficult. Obstacles include low rubber prices, poor-quality latex, a lack of productivity of agroforestry crops and low attention from investors, financiers, and markets. Non-commercial financial support, including technical support, could help strengthen farming practices and market-based instruments, including carbon payments, could help stabilise farmers' income. The expansion, however, of large-scale oil palm plantations has shifted the rural labour force from rubber smallholders to plantation workers. Efforts to address these challenges include the establishment of a rubber processing and collective marketing unit, UPPB, to improve market access and prices for smallholder farmers. Founded in 2022, the unit aims to arrange collective marketing and provide technical capacity for farmers to meet the specifications of Standard Indonesia Rubber. By aggregating rubber slabs, farmers can earn up to 25% higher prices than individual farmers, but irregular supplies from farmers and low prices are affecting their success. Despite facing challenges, local farmers' groups remain resilient in organising themselves to improve their systems with the support of NGOs. Commitment from government and private sector stakeholders is additionally needed to further promote sustainable and inclusive rubber agroforestry businesses. 

Many farmers in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, have been converting rubber agroforests to monoculture oil palm plantations, decreasing diversity in the landscape. We want to reverse this trend, by making rubber agroforestry attractive again. What have we done and learned?

• Indigenous rubber farmers in Simpang Dua subdistrict, Indonesia have improved productivity through better land-use practices.
• Rubber farmers organized by establishing a Collective Rubber Processing and Marketing Unit, trained them in post-harvest treatment of the rubber to increase prices, and helped with developing direct linkages with rubber buyers.
• We have learned that financial institutions are unlikely to provide loans to new and unexperienced farmers’ organizations. Non-profit organizations can help to overcome this barrier.
• Improving the attractiveness of diverse rubber agroforestry requires, among others, the development of value chains for organic products, and increased tenure security for rubber farmers.

During years with frequent fires in Indonesia, such as 2015 and 2019, Ketapang District in southwestern West Kalimantan Province received national and international attention. This article presents initial findings and lessons learned from Tropenbos Indonesia’s implementation of the Fire-smart landscape governance programme of the Working Landscapes Programme. The project area is Pawan-Kepulu-Pesaguan landscape in Matan Hilir Selatan sub-district of Ketapang, which covers almost 80,000 ha. The landscape consists of two peatland hydrological units with approximately 50,000 ha of peatlands in their core areas. The area has 20 villages, of which five to six are in peatlands affected by fires. 

This report is part of a series of case studies that provide insights into various mechanisms used to increase access to finance for smallholder farmers, SMEs and communities in their efforts to contribute to sustainable landscapes. The case studies focus on the strategies used by various stakeholders to reduce the risks of selected financial flows for investors, intermediaries and recipients. These case studies follow up on recommendations made by participants in the consultative process on innovative finance for sustainable landscapes. The goal is to provide more evidence of successful strategies in order to increase access to finance for smallholder farmers, SMEs and communities.

This case study focuses on the various types of productive loans provided by the Social Performance Management Unit of the Credit Union Semandang Jaya that are available to finance small-scale farmers and businesses, and analyzes how these are perceived to contribute to landscape objectives and integrated landscape management initiatives in the Ketapang-Kayong Utara landscape in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.