October 14, 2025 | 04:18 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Indonesia’s Ministry of Youth and Sports are collaborating to boost youth participation in agriculture through the ‘Cool Agripreneur’ program. This initiative trains the younger generation in sustainable, modern farming to mitigate the impacts of climate change and drive economic growth.
The program, which runs from 2024 to 2025, has gathered 100 young people from across Indonesia in Jakarta and Lampung. Participants are engaging in a series of educational modules and on-the-job training focused on innovative farming systems and agripreneurship.
This initiative addresses a critical demographic challenge: data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2023 shows that nearly 80 percent of Indonesian farmers are over 40 years old. While the agricultural sector is the nation's largest employer, absorbing about 30 percent (around 40 million people) of the working-age population, nearly half of the country's unemployed are youth aged 15-29.
Yohan, Deputy of Youth Services at Kemenpora, stressed that young people must step up as leaders to tackle challenges posed by climate change, food security, and economic inequality. "They must emerge as subjects, not just objects, in actively building the future of Indonesia's food system," Yohan said in Jakarta on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
The 'Cool Agripreneur' program originated in 2024 under the FAO’s Technical Cooperation Program (TCP) to spur youth interest in agripreneurship. The concept was first proposed by the Indonesian delegation, led by then-Chief of Staff of the Presidency, Moeldoko, at the World Food Forum (WFF) in Rome, Italy, where FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu committed support.
The program's age-appropriate learning modules cover the full agricultural value chain, from upstream fields to downstream markets. Curriculum content ranges from mapping local agricultural biodiversity and market demand to implementing high-tech, environmentally friendly methods. The goal is to enable participants to transform raw harvests into value-added products and build robust agribusinesses.
The project promotes an innovative farming model by blending digital technology, practical methods, and environmental sustainability. To encourage technology adoption, the program introduces participants to smart farming, semi-intensive methods, and sustainable practices such as permaculture.
Rajendra Aryal, the FAO Representative in Indonesia and Timor Leste, called the program a vital step in attracting youth to agriculture and its opportunities. "Young people must seize the opportunities to participate in food systems governance and integrate their perspectives into policy to enable just, sustainable food systems for all," he stated.
To ensure youth voices influence policy, interactive dialogues were held between young representatives and policymakers from the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, and Kemenpora. This platform aims to increase youth participation in decision-making and accelerate the transformation of Indonesia's food system.
Shabrina Nur Ain, one of the program participants, expressed her hopes. "I hope this marks the beginning for us to widen our network with various stakeholders, unite our shared goals to advance Indonesian food and agriculture, and turn our innovations and solution-oriented ideas into actions," said the 23-year-old woman.
The 100-person pilot program was rolled out across three training batches: Jakarta (Batch 1): October 14–December 20, 2024 (38 participants), Lampung (Batch 2): June 17–July 29, 2025 (31 participants), and Jakarta (Closing Batch 3): September 16–October 14, 2025 (31 participants).
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