He noted that the social forestry program acts as a bridge between environmental conservation and grassroots economic development.
"Of the 8.3 million hectares of social forestry land under official permits, more than 500,000 hectares have the potential to be developed into corn-based agroforestry areas," Antoni said in a statement on Thursday.
He further explained that this land has the potential to enhance the forestry sector’s contribution to national food self-sufficiency. He stressed that increased food production through social forestry must also directly improve the welfare of forest farmers.
"For that reason, we are fully open to collaborating with all relevant stakeholders — to ensure forest sustainability while advancing the forestry sector’s role in supporting food self-sufficiency and improving local livelihoods," Antoni said.
Indonesia’s social forestry program has shown significant progress. As of now, it covers 8.32 million hectares through 11,065 social forestry decrees, benefiting 1,420,189 individuals. The program’s National Economic Value has reached Rp364.19 billion (over US$22 million).
In addition, the Economic Transaction Value (NTE) from forest farmer groups and social forestry enterprises reached Rp1.57 trillion as of Q2 2025 — a 32 percent increase compared to the same period in 2024.
The Ministry of Forestry continues to strengthen cross-sector collaboration in advancing social forestry, including through initiatives such as mass corn planting on social forestry land in Central Java.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman welcomed the joint effort to enhance national food resilience.
"Social forestry is a real asset that has yet to be fully optimized. Through this collaboration, we believe national agricultural productivity can increase significantly and rapidly," he said.
Related news: Govt seeks to expand potential of forests with sustainable use
Related news: Social forestry program to unlock 7 million hectares for farmers: Govt
Translator: Arnidyha, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Anton Santoso
Copyright © ANTARA 2025
