Indonesia Halts Forest Clearing Plan After Rice Surplus
- Indonesia will halt a plan to clear forest for new rice paddies after domestic production exceeded national demand.
- The policy reversal follows government data showing that domestic grain output has outpaced consumption across the archipelago.
- Climate and energy envoy Hashim Djojohadikusumo announced that government strategic rice stocks reached roughly 5.3 to 5.8 million tons, forcing authorities to rent private warehouses because state facilities...
Indonesia will halt a plan to clear forest for new rice paddies after domestic production exceeded national demand. The abrupt shift cancels a 2024 initiative launched by President Prabowo Subianto’s administration to eliminate rice imports within five years by opening up millions of hectares of woodlands.
Surplus Production Replaces Forest Clearing Plans
The policy reversal follows government data showing that domestic grain output has outpaced consumption across the archipelago. Indonesia’s National Food Agency reported that the country produced 38.3 million tons of rice in 2025, easily clearing national demand of 34.4 million tons, according to Yahoo. ANTARA News and The Jakarta Post cited slightly different figures from the agency, recording 2025 production at 34.71 million tons against an annual demand of 31.19 million tons. President Prabowo Subianto called the surplus an important victory for one of the world’s largest consumers of the staple.
State reserves have ballooned alongside the harvest totals. Climate and energy envoy Hashim Djojohadikusumo announced that government strategic rice stocks reached roughly 5.3 to 5.8 million tons, forcing authorities to rent private warehouses because state facilities are completely full, The Jakarta Post reported. Hashim noted that Indonesia has achieved self-sufficiency in rice for the first time in 42 years, matching a milestone last reached under President Suharto in the mid-1980s. The surge in supply stems from farmer incentives, including raising the state purchase price for unhusked rice from 4,000 rupiah to 6,500 rupiah per kilogram and cutting fertilizer costs by 20 percent, per The Jakarta Post.
Carbon Sinks and Forest Protection Pressures
The decision to keep woodlands intact directly affects Indonesia’s international climate commitments. The nation’s vast rainforests serve as critical global carbon absorbers, and Jakarta has pledged to make its forestry and land-use sector a net carbon sink by 2030, meaning the land will absorb more carbon than it emits. That target faced severe scrutiny after Auriga estimated that forest loss surged by 66 percent in 2025 to 433,751 hectares, with more than 78,000 hectares tied directly to food and energy self-sufficiency programs, according to The Jakarta Post.
Environmental pressures also stem from recurring transboundary haze. Smoke from fires burning in cleared Indonesian forests and peatlands has repeatedly drifted across borders into Malaysia and Singapore, worsening regional air quality. Environmental advocacy group Mighty Earth welcomed the cancellation of the clearance scheme. Glenn Hurowitz, founder of Mighty Earth, stated that the government made a globally significant decision for people, nature, and climate, praising the move as proof that agricultural growth can happen without destroying natural ecosystems.
Intensifying Farm Yields on Degraded Land
Rather than cutting down more trees, the Indonesian government will pivot to agricultural intensification on existing farmland. Hashim stated that officials will rely on higher-yielding seeds and better farming techniques to boost output without expanding the agricultural footprint. Mari Elka Pangestu, deputy chair of the National Economic Council, told a sustainability forum in Jakarta that the government plans to target more than 12 million hectares of degraded land instead of pristine forests, The Jakarta Post reported.
Shifting production to degraded land carries its own hurdles. WRI Indonesia identified roughly 9.72 million hectares of degraded but productive land outside peat areas, but found that less than 10 percent of it is suitable for large-scale agriculture, with about 4.1 million hectares better suited for small farms under 100 hectares, according to The Jakarta Post. Farmers in Central Kalimantan have also struggled to grow rice on acidic peat soils cleared during earlier agricultural push efforts.
Uncertainty Ahead for Ongoing Papua and Kalimantan Projects
While the broader clearance expansion is canceled, the exact status of agricultural projects already underway in South Papua and Kalimantan remains unaddressed by officials. ANTARA News reported that the Ministry of Agriculture plans to optimize swamp lands in those regions instead of opening new forest blocks. Statistics Indonesia projects domestic rice output from January to September 2026 at 28.71 million metric tons, holding virtually flat compared to the previous year while remaining vulnerable to drought, floods, and pest attacks.
Mighty Earth and allies will be closely monitoring implementation and supporting work with local communities in Papua to heal the damage that’s been done. We are hopeful about the potential of this decision to drive a continued shift to protecting and restoring nature and to sustainable agriculture.
Glenn Hurowitz