Jakarta. The Agriculture Ministry and state-owned fertilizer Pupuk Indonesia Holding Company, or PIHC, recently inked a contract on the distribution of subsidized fertilizers for 2025.

According to Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman, the distribution to the farmers will begin on Jan. 1. This program should also be able to spur national rice production amidst climate change and geopolitical conflict. This eventually will help Indonesia’s goal of becoming self-sufficient in food.

“President Prabowo Subianto has always instructed us to do our best and to work together to achieve food self-sufficiency as soon as possible,” Andi Amran was quoted as saying in a press statement.

Faster Distribution
The ministry’s director for fertilizers and pesticides, Jekvy Hendra, said that the upcoming distribution would include urea, NPK, special formula NPK, and organic fertilizers. NPK refers to a type of fertilizer that encompasses nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. They total about 9.55 million tons.

“We will make use of the digital platform e-RDKK when distributing the fertilizers,” Jekvy said.

This marks the first time such a contract has been signed before the year ends. Usually, the contract signing would take place in March. According to Jekvy, the first planting season starts in October and March, so farmers would need the fertilizers. Aside from a commitment to speed up the distribution, the government has also prepared the necessary regulations on subsidized fertilizers.

“We will verify the farmers’ identity through the local agencies. We will make sure whether the farmers really live in the area, their names, and so on. The ministry will then issue its decree. But the fertilizer allocation will get directly signed by the facilities director-general,” Jekvy said.

The government will also prioritize all farmers, including those belonging to the so-called forest village communities, as long as their land spans below 2 hectares, according to Jekvy. Farmers also can come directly to the kiosks by showing their identity cards or farmer cards. “If they are feeling unwell, they can ask the farmer groups or their family members to get the subsidized fertilizers.”

Fertilizers Across Indonesia
Pupuk Indonesia’s marketing director Tri Wahyudi Saleh said his company would continue to make improvements to make sure that the 14.7 million registered farmers could get subsidized fertilizers. According to Tri Wahyudi, the fertilizer supply across Indonesia stands at 1.4 million tons. About 400,000 tons are available at the distributors and kiosks.

"We have 1,100 distributors and also 26,700 kiosks that have helped a lot with distribution. The distribution rate has even exceeded 100 percent,” Tri Wahyudi said.