DistantNews
Support us
🇮🇩 Indonesia /Economy & Trade

Indonesia Changes Rules to Give Landless Farm Workers Access to Machinery Aid

From Republika · () Indonesian

Translated from Indonesian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Approved/passed
  • Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said landless farm workers can now form groups with field extension officers’ assistance and apply for agricultural machinery.
  • Eligible equipment includes pumps, harvesting tools, two-wheel tractors and four-wheel tractors, with distribution based on group needs and readiness.
  • The policy followed findings that some farm workers earned as little as Rp30,000 per day from irregular work.

Landless farm workers in Indonesia can now seek government assistance for agricultural machinery after the Agriculture Ministry changed its rules. The previous system largely favored farmer groups that owned land, leaving workers who depended on daily agricultural jobs outside the program.

Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said the workers had struggled to qualify because they lacked both land and membership in a farmer group. Under the revised rules, they can form their own groups with help from field agricultural extension officers.

Workers could not receive assistance because they were not organized in groups and did not own land. We are opening this up so their welfare can improve.

— Andi Amran SulaimanThe agriculture minister explained the reason for changing eligibility rules.

Amran announced the change during an inspection of a pumping project in Karawang, West Java, on Aug. 31, 2026. “Workers could not receive assistance because they were not organized in groups and did not own land. We are opening this up so their welfare can improve,” he said.

He said the ministry made the change after finding a similar problem during a visit to Central Java. “The regulation is already in effect and completed. When we visited Central Java last month and found the same thing, we returned and immediately changed the regulation,” Amran said.

The regulation is already in effect and completed. When we visited Central Java last month and found the same thing, we returned and immediately changed the regulation.

— Andi Amran SulaimanAmran described how field findings led to the regulatory change.

During the Karawang inspection, Amran also encountered a grass-cutting farm worker who earned only Rp30,000 per day. The work was not available every day and could be done at most three times a week, leaving the worker with about Rp240,000 a month.

Groups must have about 10 members at minimum. Extension officers will help organize them and submit prospective recipient data for verification. The machinery can then support services for other farmers, giving workers a possible income stream beyond daily wages. The ministry said aid would be distributed gradually according to each group’s needs and preparedness.

It has started today. The pumps, harvesting tools, two-wheel tractors and four-wheel tractors are all available.

— Andi Amran SulaimanAmran listed the equipment available under the expanded program.
About this summary

Originally published by Republika in Indonesian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog