In the southern part of West Java, Indonesia, coconut trees stretch across the landscape, bearing fruit all year round. For generations, smallholder farmers have relied on this abundance for their livelihoods. Yet despite the steady supply, income has remained low. Most farmers sell coconuts as raw materials, where prices are dictated by traders and offer little return for their hard work.
“We have plenty of coconuts,” shares Kustiwa Adinata, Executive Director of the Jaringan Masyarakat Tani Indonesia (JAMTANI), “but limited tools and capacity to process them. That’s why farmers often earn less than they should.”
But within this challenge lies opportunity. Coconuts are more than just a raw commodity; they are a source of diverse, high-value products. From coconut oil to oil cake (bungkil), from the traditional delicacy galendo to coconut shell crafts and even packaged coconut-based drinks, each part of the coconut holds potential. Recognizing this, farmers began to reimagine what they could do—not just harvest coconuts, but transform them.
Through collective action, farmer groups—many with strong participation from women—started developing small-scale coconut processing enterprises. These groups learned how to produce coconut oil and other derivatives, adding value to what was once sold cheaply. With innovation and collaboration, coconuts became more than a crop; they became a pathway to better livelihoods.
In 2023, this transformation gained further momentum when the Koperasi Jamtani Pangandaran, a coconut processing cooperative, received USD 20,000 from the APFP-FO4A program to support and expand its coconut processing initiatives. This investment helped improve equipment, strengthen production capacity, and empower more farmers to participate in value-added processing.
The Asia-Pacific Farmers’ Program (APFP) – Farmers’ Organizations for Asia (FO4A) is implemented by the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) and La Via Campesina (LVC), with funding from the European Union (EU) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The program aims to strengthen the capacities of farmers’ organizations to provide economic services, advocate for enabling policies, and promote sustainable livelihoods for small-scale family farmers across Asia.
For Nanang Paijo, leader of the ‘Galendo Si Madu’ group, the journey has been transformative. “We’ve been processing coconut oil for about four years now,” he says. “It’s given us a lot of experience—and better income.”
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