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Rural poverty approaches, policies & strategies in Indonesia

Indonesia's current poverty reduction strategy, outlined in the Medium-Term Development Plan 2004–2009, focuses on social safety-net programmes, community empowerment and the strengthening of community self-reliance through microenterprise development.
To reduce rural poverty the government works to:

• accelerate rural development and improve management of natural resources, focusing on providing productive and durable employment
• improve rural infrastructure
• increase paricipation of poor people in development and improve the quality of life for women
• foster greater opportunities for poor communities that are disadvantaged by their remote locations
• provide appropriate social security systems to offer short-term assistance in times of crisis

The revitalization of agriculture is a key element of the government’s poverty reduction strategy. Agricultural revitalization will:

• create employment opportunities, especially in rural areas
• support sustainable economic growth
• improve the links between rural and urban areas
• increase the rural sector’s contribution to overall economic growth

The strategy focuses on areas such as building farmers’ capacity, increasing agricultural diversification, boosting productivity and added value, using forests and their products, improving health and education and social infrastructure, and enhancing the participation of all elements of society in rural development.

The goals of the government’s Long-Term National Development Plan 2005–2025 are to:

• achieve equitable development, giving greater attention to disadvantaged groups and communities
• maintain national food security and self-reliance by developing domestic production capacity
• develop rural areas by promoting labour-intensive agricultural activities, increasing human resource capacity, developing infrastructure, enhancing access to information and markets and to financial services and employment, and promoting agricultural products through price interventions and trade policies

In the context of the government’s 2020 Vision, the priority areas of the government’s agricultural and rural development strategy include human resource development, productivity, agribusiness, growth in non-farm activities, natural resource management, and empowerment of communities in forested areas. Vision 2020 includes a focus on the empowerment of women and young people and the recognition of traditional communal rights to natural resources.

Source: IFAD