ice is Indonesia’s main food, and it is important to consider the role of small scale farmers and women in the production of rice and other food. Small farmers and women have contributed immensely to meet the nutritional needs of the Indonesian population. According to national statistics, 73 millions tonnes of rice from the national rice production are produced by small farmers, most of which usually farm 0.25 to 0.5 hectares. The rice fields in Indonesia has a total land area of 13 million hectares.

Based on the farmers’ experience, the average production cost to produce rice is 20 million rupiahs per hectare per season including the rent for the land. Normally, smallholder farmers harvest rice twice a year, which means smallholder farmers contribute 520 trillion rupiahs (40 billion US dollars) per year as investment in food, particularly rice. (Investment in horticulture is not included.)